And here we are, on an obscure Tuesday morning (at least, on the west coast). These can be the best times to crank out some writing. Big on the mind is the transformative value of the awesome and all powerful absolute values.

Absolute values. You may be familiar with the concept in mathematics. If you take the number one, and apply the rule of absolute value, you get one. It seems simple, even boring. But then comes the curious absolute value of negative numbers. If we chuck the negative one into the Absolute Value-O-matic, it comes out as….one? As the rule explains, absolute values measure distances from zero. Therefore, negative one is one from zero as is good ol’ boring “I don’t do anything negative” one. It got me thinking.

Four years ago, I adopted a new outlook on life. There were mountains of reasons why I adopted a new outlook, but more importantly than that, I took a step forward. It started with textbook “positive” affirmations, and from there I upped the ante by shedding views and sentiments of opposition towards things I disliked. It felt liberating not to be held down by toxic people or situations. New energies were freed and available to apply in other areas. For me, I invested the energy in realms where there was potential for growth. If I disliked silver grapes, for example, I halted expenditure of energy honed on silver grapes, especially opposition. Little did I know at the time, but I was dabbling in the land of absolute values. My life has never been the same since.

On the topic opposition, one must realize that “anti” is negative by nature. To be negative about silver grapes is to buoy the relevance of silver grapes with one’s energy. In such a case, silver grapes receive value they ought not to have. The only remedy to this drain is to refocus energy on what one wants and what is good. It is not about perfection, and happiness is still more than a thought or concept, but adopting a mindset of absolute values gives the beholder a much better set of options to work with. A dislike of silver grapes gives off energy and vibration, and no matter what that may or may not do to silver grapes, it gives silver grapes value. An evolved soul is unlike to place value of any sort on something (or someone) disliked. In fact, there is little an evolved soul dislikes, because their energy is focused solely on what they DO like. In my case, since adopting the absolute value approach, not even the most difficult of days come without a compelling set of options to choose from on how to proceed.

In today’s politically charged world, people may ask, “what if silver grapes become socialist and try to take down capitalism?” or, “what if silver grapes become fascist and try to take down democracy?” Try as they might, such people will find it near impossible to stop what has not come to fruition without opening doors to unforeseen forces and energies that will guarantee the occurrence of the very things they do not want. Take an extreme but relevant example—people’s obsession with avoiding or opposing war after the year 1918. Everyone today talks about Germany, Japan, and Italy, but in reality they merely took what was left on the table for them to take. If any one of a boat load of situations had gone differently (virtually all elements of the thousand-page pile of silliness that was the Treaty of Verseilles were disregarded), any or all three of those nations would have been stopped in their tracks before a global catastrophe occurred. People charge that other nations did nothing. This is untrue; other nations spent copious amounts of energy and resources on careful lingo, tiptoeing, or foolish pretend games or hopes that the aggressors of the day would magically chill out before a war happened. In no way does this excuse the Axis Powers and their atrocities, but simply taking reality as it came would have prevented what we know as World War Two from taking the form that it did. People of that day knew what was happening all along and they chose denial as a result of a fear and loathing about what reality was showing them. The absolute value of anti-war is war. Ultimately, people hell bent on taking something will take what believe they can get away with.

As far as science can tell, everything in our universe has an expiration date. Even stars die! Silver grapes could be the biggest, evilest thing on the planet, but in the end they will perish like everything else. Obsessing about them, even if it is an obsession on the grounds of trying to stop silver grapes from doing something evil or unwanted, will only give them energies by which they may do evil or unwanted things! It is possible and totally feasible to keep them on the radar and if they grow horns and start going bonkers to let life present the conditions by which one can address the danger. Free will is an amazing thing, but creating ripples because of a feeling that suggests danger is on the horizon backfires. We humans are self-aware, but we do not control time and existence. We can barely react appropriately to circumstance. If something is truly evil (or good) it will exert such regardless of our efforts against it. No amount of romance around restraint, appeasement, empathy, or equitable lingo will control how others choose to behave. Their choice is theirs. Mine is mine. And, yours is yours.

Conditions on the plane of existence will either produce opportunities to face and defeat silver grapes or for fate itself to handle them accordingly. Perhaps this is an unlikable reality, but our egos tend to narrow our vision, as we want things to be favorably choreographed. There is nothing in reality that requires or makes choreography a standard bearer of any kind. Humans trip themselves up on that far too often. We may want to see silver grapes go to prison for crimes, but if we trust ourselves, we know that life will catch up and the bell of reality will toll upon silver grapes just as it does for everything else. Life goes on. No matter how bad something might be in your eyes, obsessing over it gives control to that something. The mind might convince you that this is okay because then it grants scenarios where you can face off with this something, but then the narrative is at something’s mercy and your ego has gone astray. You may defeat that something, but if your entire mindset is consumed by it, you will run into problems as soon as that something is vanquished. The void will get you. Pro-good (1) yields good (1). Anti-bad (-1) yields bad (1), and of course pro-bad (1) yields bad (1).

You can argue away and get whatever results you want on the basis that your opposition is proof that the absolute value approach is bad or foolhardy. Looking only for holes in someone or something is a great source of dopamine for the ego. Through such a lens you will always be right. Maybe a congratulations is in order, because then what? Argument against something without the provision of alternatives to consider yields nary a positive result. If nothing else, consider the promotion of life–promoting life continues the topic of life and in so doing it sustains the spirit of life. Opposing life does nothing, since its opposition is already at hand by a fella named Death, which ironically stirs life to live. Pretty neat, huh! In the case of evil, there may be no greater evil on this earth than a person seeking to eliminate it. Succulent fluidity is really the way to go. That is positive positive—not happy thoughts or bubbly lingo—but good, hard positive. As for me? When I see bad, I shake its hand and wish it the best, because baby I am bringing good.

This is the first installment of Positive’s Journal. Have a great Tuesday!

Oh, and I don’t have an issue with silver grapes. Sour grapes, maybe. That’ll have to be a blog for another day 😛