Can’t believe we’re halfway through the year already.
I also can’t believe I’m now 30 years old. For some reason, you never really think about crossing 29 when you’re younger. I’m sure I’ll feel this way in 10 years from now, too.
But not thinking about things doesn’t keep them at bay.
So let’s get moving, just like the time.
In today’s email
- Half-yearly audit
- Accentuating the Positive, by the Urban Monk
- Living in the gutter
Something to consider
Like I said, half the year is gone. It’s probably a good time to check in with yourself and your goals.
- What did you have in mind when you started this year?
- How are you feeling about yourself and your year so far?
- What are you grateful for so far?
- What are you looking forward to now?
- How are you going to get there?
While you think about this, here’s a piece on how to cull out the best parts to reflect on.
You Gotta Accentuate The Positive
By Urban Monk from The Zen Journal
Back in 1944, a songwriter named Johnny Mercer wrote a song that has since become a classic. The song’s lyrics go like this:
“You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, and don’t mess with Mr. In-Between. You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum, bring gloom down to the minimum, have faith or pandemonium is liable to walk upon the scene.”
At first glance, it might seem like Mercer was singing from the comfort of a charmed life, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The First World War raged on from 1914 to 1918.
Then came the Spanish Flu, sweeping across the globe from 1918 to 1920.
And just as that tragedy was fading, from 1921 to 1925, epidemics of diphtheria, tuberculosis, and polio claimed countless lives.
Following that, in 1929, the stock market crashed, triggering the Great Depression.
The 1930s brought the Dust Bowl, devastating the land in the United States.
And then, in 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour pulled the United States into World War II.
So, given all this turmoil, what does Mercer do?
He doesn’t fall into despair or drown in negativity. Instead, he offers us a simple yet powerful message:
accentuate the positive.
In a world that is constantly throwing challenges our way, it’s easy to get lost in the endless cycle of hardship.
But Mercer’s message is clear—focusing on the negative won’t make the struggles go away.
No, we can find even the smallest glimmers of goodness, of hope, that help us navigate life. That’s where the real power lies.
So What Does This Mean For You?
The truth is, the world has always been in extreme distress, and it will continue to be.
But here’s the thing: self-pity and panic don’t help. They don’t change anything.
The real challenge isn’t the trauma we face, it’s how we choose to dramatise it in our minds.
We have more control than we think. We get to decide how we carry it, how we hold it.
And think about this for a second, the weight we carry can often feel unbearable. But here’s the thing we forget—we don’t have to carry it forever.
We don’t have to cling to that heavy rock we’re holding onto. We can put it down, take a breath, and let it go for now.
And if we need to, we can always come back to it later.
But for now, we can simply let it go.
Just for now.
P.S. In case you want to check out the song, here.
If you liked reading this, you definitely want to check out the goldmine here.
Quote of the edition
To sum up today’s theme best:
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
― Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan
