Seeking Positive Answers: What does it truly mean to be positive?

My friend had told me that it was important to have an information bracelet or tag somewhere on my person when I was out cycling, especially when I was by myself. Considering that I live with cerebral palsy, getting a tag made sense, and I decided I needed to start wearing one. It didn’t hurt that my friend had some available as part of her promotional efforts as a running coach.

A photographer I’m not.
Here’s my Form and Fitness
tag. Kinda proud of my
wornout sneakers. (Not bad
for a wheelchair user!)

One of the pieces of information that goes on these tags is the individual’s blood type. I didn’t know mine, so I took a blood test. It seemed like something I should know. As soon as I got the results, I could predict how my friend would respond when she found out that I was B positive.

It’s a sign! she said.

I laughed and told the friend I’ve come to call my “big sis’” that I knew she’d say that. She’s allowed. Not just because she’s the sister I’ve always needed, according to my mom, but because she’s been a genuinely positive person in the short time that I’ve known her.

I was thrilled when she asked to read my work several months earlier, but I was a little nervous about her reaction to some pieces I’d written on my experiences with disability. Rereading them before I gave them to her, I knew she wouldn’t be a fan. I also knew my approach would be different now.

Before my exchange with my big sis’, I had decided to take a break from writing. I wasn’t having much success, and paid blogging opportunities had dried up. My brief relapse into sports blogging hadn’t generated much interest, and I was tired of beating the same drum—and hearing the same drum beat—in the disability blogosphere.

Since my break began, I took my first class in twenty years, which was also my first online class ever. I like to say I “audited” the class—listening to the lectures, but not doing the assignments—as a way of dipping my toe back into the waters of going to school. I eventually followed-up with a second course that I dove into much more. I also started feeling better physically—mostly due to an improving shoulder that has bothered me for years—and got back to lifting weights. (I have to thank my sis’, who is a Wellness Coach, for helping me with my shoulder. She’s taught me some great shoulder stretches, and has greatly improved my workout program in general.)

I even got back to shooting hoops on about a 6-foot high net at the Y. I’m absolutely terrible at shooting, and love every minute of it. I can miss 10 straight shots, and hearing the swish of the ball going through the net on the 11th shot makes me want to keep shooting.

For the most part, I’ve changed my occasional walk from a ride in my power chair to a ride on my recumbent cycle. And I love my just-about-monthly outings with my sis.

I also started thinking about what it truly means to be positive.

I’ve tried not to post anything except upbeat messages on social media (though I recently “shared” an article that may be considered politically-charged and might not be viewed in a positive light by some).

I’ve resisted the urge to tweet about negative experiences with ignorant people I encountered at a restaurant and the pool this year. I did not write about the nightmarish process of buying my new modified van.

I’ve begun looking—or, at least, peeking around—for a job again. Though reticent about the constant rebuffs that I’ve experienced in the past from employers more concerned about my disability than my qualifications, I’d like some of the freedom a paycheck could bring.

Is that being positive?

There’s a part of me that wonders if, as a writer and a disabled person, I shirked my duties in not writing about some of my less than positive experiences. It’s important to stand up for yourself, and I often do that through my writing. Pointing out what’s wrong in the world is almost a natural part of those efforts.

Is that being negative?

I’ve watched The Ellen Show for years, recently making it a daily habit again. DeGeneres has to be the queen of positivity. She’s funny, and seems like a genuinely good person. Her show is, as the theme song says, “a little fun” in my day.

DeGeneres ends every show saying, “Be kind to one another.” It seems like wonderfully positive advice.

Is that all it would take to be more positive? It would be a great step, but I imagine most view the daily farewell as a throw-away line.

So, I’m really wondering. What does it truly mean to be positive?

I’d like to say this is the beginning of a great journey to find out what being positive really means. If only I had that sage voice of a seasoned, roving reporter on some Sunday morning show. Regardless, I hope to find the next step of that journey, and to share it with readers sooner rather than later.