The Glad Game

I watched Pollyanna today. That is the cutest movie ever! I especially like the part where Pollyanna is talking to Rev. Ford about her father. She read him a quote from Abraham Lincoln, it said, "When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will." Later on, toward the end, Rev. Ford told Pollyanna, "We looked for the good in them (the town's people), and we found it, didn't we?" All through the movie, Pollyanna played a game she called the glad game. No matter what happened she always tried to find something to be glad about. Pollyanna ended up making a huge difference in her little town. She helped people realize that it is better to look for the good instead of the bad.

You know, it's easier to see the bad than it is to see the good. We can always look at a situation and say, "Well, it might have turned out okay, but it would have been much better if...." Or to look at someone and see only their faults instead of the good things about them. Some of the things Pollyanna came up with to be happy about were kind of a stretch but it helped make the people start coming up with their own reasons to be happy. For instance, a few people were complaining about it being Sunday and Pollyanna said, "Well you can be glad because it will be six whole days before it's Sunday again." Or she was glad when she got a pair of crutches instead of a baby doll by accident because, "at least I don't have to use them." Maybe it's time I started playing the glad game. Who knows, I might enjoy it. : ) Have a great week!