Do some people thrive on negativity?

Have people forgotten how to be positive? I did an experiment recently, in the Doctors waiting room, of all places. Bear with me not as off the wall as it sounds. It’s as good a place as any. You know, there’s the awkward silence, and then someone makes eye contact or starts a general conversation that you feel obliged to respond to. Typically Irish, the weather came up as the topic of conversation. I decided to take part in this conversation but when someone said something negative I consciously hit it with a positive. It went something like this:

Man:                     “Oh does the rain ever stop.”

Me:                        No it’s Ireland, of course it doesn’t stop, that is why we have forty shades of green, I thought but replied: “Well, at least it will make my herb and vegetables grow.”

Man:                     “Hmm, makes the weeds grow too though.”

Woman:              “Oh you’re right never stops, it would get you down."

Me:                        “Liz Hurley says she is jealous of our soft climate, makes for the rights conditions for better skin.”

Woman:              “That’s, until the central heating dries it out.”

Me:                        “Plenty of water to be drunk. It’s good to get out in it though, fresh air, regardless of the weather.”

Woman:              “You’d get drenched.”

Me:                        “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad rain proof clothes. They are worth investing in.”

Man:                     “How long will we be waiting, I wonder.” Both shrug.

Me:                        “Ah, the waiting gives us a chance to chat and get to know each other.”

I wasn’t giving up and after my last statement I gave them both a big smile. The man’s response was to look at me weirdly and seemed relieved to be called in by the doctor and the woman discontinued the conversation. A new person came in. The above mentioned woman went onto talk about the road deaths to date, I kid you not. So back to my question, do some people just thrive on negativity? Have people forgotten how to be positive?

All I tried was a bit of positivity to which I got continued negative responses. I won’t give up though. Random strangers don’t be afraid to talk to me. I might say something to brighten your day.

Support, in 10 lines!

Support comes in many forms, support tights, support knickers, support bras, support slips, etc.

I was at a fortieth birthday party at the weekend and realised how much of my friends and I rely on this extra support to look slinky in our party gear.

One of the most important forms of support is those friends. They can be as good as the best pair of tuck-you-in undergarments you can invest in.  

Now friends, I am not saying you are like my knickers that I want to sit on you. Nor do I want you to hug my bottom, but you hold me in when I am ready to fall apart. Those all-in-one support slips are like getting a big hug from a best friend when it’s badly needed. Good friends are like a good bra, close to my heart and underwired to perk me up when my mood is sagging.  

So invest… in good support underwear and in your friends like they invest in you. The rewards will be a more together, tucked in, perked up you, to show to the world.

Weather Forecast: Major Brain Storming Session Afoot.

Writing is a lonely journey, but not always. Okay the ideas are contained in your brain but what about when you hit that inevitable block or become unfocused? That’s when you reach out. Like John ‘Hannibal’ Smith in the A-Team said ‘I love it when a plan comes together.’ I love it when like-minded brains merge to fuse ideas, get them surging in one direction. The result:  a very successful brain storming session. The only kind of storm I like.

I sat this morning with ideas running around like roller skating rabbits on speed. My mind was all over the place. That is until a fellow writer focused me. We had one of those weird chats about blood and gore. You know the ones, chatting normally about such subject as if we were talking about ‘how many sugars do you take in your tea’.

One word or a line or idea can lead onto much, much more lines, ideas, paragraphs, chapters, novel number two, etc. I now sit here with much better focus, well for today anyway. So thank you Daniel Kaye.

Writing is a form of therapy

Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.
Graham Greene