This grey weather needed a serious punch of colour and yellow was my pick for the day. Finland is notorious for its endless shades of grey and it's that time of the year when darkness is slowly but surely swallowing up the last rays of light. This also becomes the time where I need to gear up and prepare myself for the long winter to come, so that the casualties are as low as possible. One of my tools, as simple and obvious it sounds, is focusing on the positive. Being positive isn't equal to throwing out all the facts and your brain, or just looking at everything through rose coloured glasses. It's also not about being irresponsible or dumb. Being positive is about seeing very clearly what is going on, but instead of focusing on the can'ts and the impossibilities, I'll choose to find the things that I can affect and change with my actions. For example, volunteering for an anti human trafficking organisation has made this very obvious. When laying out the specifics of this horrendous human rights issue, it's not easy to keep a joyful attitude. There are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today (more than ever in history), it's the fastest growing criminal industry (32 yearly profits), more than half of the victims are women and children (average age of a trafficking victim is 12 years old)... Yes, these facts are cruel and all in my face, but burying my head in them would only make me want to quit all together because it seems like an impossible mission. With that kind of thinking this world would have come to an end a long time ago. So I won't close my eyes to the reality, but I will pour my energy into the effort I can make to see this injustice disappear once and for all. It won't happen overnight, but I can't let that deject me. Even if my work saved only one person, it would all be worth it. And with dedicated people and their brilliant and creative minds, we're able to affect waaay more people than that!
This mentality really goes with anything in life. It's like an unwritten law of nature. If I let myself be overwhelmed with all the things that seem too difficult or even impossible to tackle, I'll become completely passive, will halt any growth and basically only end up empowering those negativities. Wether it's a bad habit or a global cause you're wanting to change, keeping your eyes fixed on what you can do and staying positive is actually the wisest and most effective way of going about any issue. I've come to the conclusion that instead of ignorance or silliness, positivity should be associated with words like vision and perseverance. Honestly, I'd run with those attributes any time of the year…
"I am too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful and too determined to be defeated."
xxx
Photos by Eino Manner
Outfit: ZARA
Except for bag: Calving Klein
No comments:
Post a Comment