I’ve noticed that recently there has been a lot of ‘positive thinking’ going on in the blogosphere. From the brilliant ‘5 good things’ series to Thanksgiving inspired ‘what are you thankful for’ posts, it seems everyone is keen to spread a bit of good karma around at the moment.

I have to admit that I’m a serious advocate of the power of positive thinking. I really believe that people can benefit from trying to find the good in everything, however bleak or terrible.

Have you ever seen the classic Disney film Pollyanna ? Fabulous old school Disney, terribly cheezy and twee but I adored it as a child. It was Hayley Mills’ breakthrough role and in it her character shows her cranky, emotionless aunt how to love and be happy. At the same time she selflessly manages to lift the spirits of the whole town and teach them how to have a sense of community.Pollyanna plays this game, the ‘glad game’, in which she strives to always find something to be glad about, always. She’s good at it too. Anyway… I think the film’s message must have stayed lodged inside my head all these years as I always try to find reasons to be grateful, happy and ‘glad’.

My father and I once had a conversation about how one of the best emotions or feelings in the world is that of laughter through tears, the way you feel when you acknowledge the bleakness or horror of a situation but still manage to find something to smile about. My Dad certainly adopted this attitude while he was battling against cancer and it’s something I try to live by everyday.

I’m not saying that I always manage to be positive or that I live a life free from those ‘glass is half empty’ kind of moments. As someone who has experienced, lived through and recovered from depression I’m very, very good at negativity. Lets face it, sometimes finding the good in things seems plain impossible.

But every now and then a day like today happens.

Last night a close friend of mine gave birth to her second baby, a beautiful baby girl. I was looking after her son while she was in labour and this morning I was responsible for delivering him home to meet his new sister. I felt so privileged to witness the special moment when he laid eyes on his brand new sibling. I was reminded that for me, being ‘glad’ is all about family and friends, being there and making the memories.

I had a quick cuddle with the little one before I left. There is something incredibly humbling about holding a human being that has spent less than 24hrs in the world. Having spent the end of last week grieving over everything I’ve lost, I realised that, no matter what, the world keeps turning and babies keep being born. Life, in some form or another, goes on. If that doesn’t make me glad I don’t know what will.

Loveaudrey xxx