How many disabled people do you know? No, I am not referring to the people who simply have a physical disability. I am talking about the ones who allow themselves to become disabled or let others make them disabled. A person, healthy or otherwise, can be disabled if he or she lets everyday negativity or problems hinder them from truly loving the life they live or going after their heart's desires.

Many people tend to let a negative comment ruin their mood for the rest of their day, without having the ability to ignore it in order to focus on the good things they do have. Why is it so easy to focus on or be preoccupied by a bad event than it is by a positive event? It is unfortunately the nature of humans to be drawn to bad news—bad news sells, so that is why media love feeding us bad news because it works—many of us do love bad news, even though none of us want any of the bad events to happen to us! I believe the reason why we are drawn to other people's negativity is that it brings suspense and intrigue. It is the same reason why many of us, including yours truly, love to read murder mysteries and thrillers and watch horror films. We want that sense of adventure, a shiver down our spines, and yes, things to criticize about.

Another reason why we seem to be drawn to negativity—or actually why we have so much negativity—is because negativity comes in too many forms, outweighing the positivity. Think about it for a minute: goodness can only come in one form, one order. I compare it to a suit in a deck of cards. If you put the cards in order (positivity), and then you drop it, it will most likely go out of order (negativity). If you drop the cards five times, it will likely have five different disorders (negativity). So as with a deck of cards, goodness only has one face while negativity has many faces. A good person will be good. Period. A bad person may be a liar, a cheater, a thieve, or a murderer—so they come in all different forms. There's only one way to be good; there are countless ways to be bad. So in essence, it is easier to be bad than it is to be good, therefore it is easier to be attracted to negativity than it is to be attracted to positivity.

So how do we ignore these many faces of negativity to live happily? The answer is in the question—we MUST ignore them at our best ability. If you truly, seriously, undoubtedly want a positive life, putting some effort in blocking out negativity will no longer seem hard; it will actually be invigorating. Remember what I said in the last issue about your desires? That is exactly what I mean here—you must have the desire to live positively. You need 100% desire for it; 99% will not be enough to maintain it. If you are not finding and focusing on the positivity steadfastly, that tells me that your desires are not strong enough, no matter what you say.

Are my desires strong? You bet! My desires are as sturdy as they get. My desire for a positive life is steady—I can count on it as easily as I can count on the sun to rise tomorrow. I may be wheelchair-bound and blind, but I am in no way disabled. So fire your soul for desires for a positive life, not a negative life.

I have some happy news to share with you—my book Waking Spirit has been awarded the title of honorable mention in the 2007 DIY Book Festival. That's a third accolade! What can I possibly say this time? Last time, I said that I was floating on Cloud Nine. Well, let's say I'm dancing on it now.

I am currently working on my seventh book, a short memoir, so I hope to have four books out in 2008. Indeed, I have been a busy bee. I am taking pre-orders for two of the upcoming titles at http://www.shirleycheng.com

You get a limited-time offer of $2 off for each book, so act fast before it ends. The books are listed under "Coming Soon..."

I thought I'd keep this issue short and sweet.

Until next time, remember to always desire the good, the beautiful, and the positive for a meaningful and happy life!

Shirley Cheng, www.ShirleyCheng.com

All content copyrighted 2007 by Shirley Cheng. All rights reserved.