We ran away this weekend … disappeared for a few days. Became incommunicado in fact (which is why the blog is a little late).
We just wanted to relax and get away, and so we ended up in a nearby little coastal town just north of Brisbane. And it was a delightful spot; with white sandy beaches, the glittering sea lying gently under a warming sun, and palm trees and old beach huts spread out, hugging the ocean edge. It didn’t take long to relax.
The second day we strolled along the coastal road to the small shopping centre and found a café open for breakfast. It was a small place, and we were ushered to a table already occupied by a gentleman reading the morning paper. We exchanged polite greetings and sat down to ignore each other.
But I was on holiday, and I was feeling full of peace and love for the whole world and the people in it, so I set out to coax our inadvertent companion into conversation.
“The weather is lovely” was my opening remark.
“Yes it is” he responded looking up from his paper “but it looks like rain later.”
I looked up to the cloudless sky and wondered how he knew that, gave a quick look round for the seaweed which usually is depended on at these times – couldn’t see any and gave up the conundrum.
“You have a lovely little town” I persevered.
“Yes; but wait until the traffic builds up” he answered morosely.
I was getting the picture – I’d met up with another ‘Yezbut’
“What a peaceful place”
“Yezbut wait until the kids come home from school”
“I love the smell of coffee in the morning”
“Yezbut it’s always cold”
The trouble with ‘Yezbuts’ is that they always see the problems and never the possibilities – so the coffee is cold? Call for the icecream and make iced coffee. If it does rain later, then enjoy the sunshine now, and rejoice that you don’t have to water the garden later.
Negative people live in a negative world full of ‘don’ts’ and ‘can’ts’ – and the real problem is that they can be infectious. Sitting in the sunlight, gazing out to the horizon at the sparkling sea I refused to be brought down to my ‘Yezbut’s’ level. But oh how easy it would have been to fall into the trap of seeing life from their point of view.
So I tried a different response:
When he complained that it would rain later, I responded brightly “Well that will be nice for the garden!” He looked startled as if that had never occurred to him.
Then when he complained about the traffic, I pointed out that it was good for business; and when I finally got to the bit about turning cold coffee into creamy iced coffee, he grabbed his paper, stood up and said “I hate Pollyannas” in a disgusted voice and strode off.
I refused to be daunted. I was not going to let a miserable ‘Yezbut’ spoil my short holiday; and it confirmed something about life that I have always known; it is not about what you know, or do – it is about your attitude.
So are you a Yezbut – or are you Yezand? Yezand’s, take the statement and run with it, building onto the experience, rather than trying to diminish pleasure and enjoyment.
A Yezand might have responded to my original comment with “Yes! And we may be lucky to get some rain later.” They could have highlighted that “Yes, the town was lovely and there were some great bathing beaches as well.” – Quiet? “Yes it is, and when the children get out of school it really starts to buzz!”
I like being around Yezands; they are positive people and I’m beginning to think they are becoming an endangered species.
So which one are you – a Yezbut or a Yezand?
Michele @ Trischel