LANGUAGE IN OUR LINEAGE!

Growing up in a small town in Kentucky, I had a definitive "hick" accent--not rural, but small town, informal. 

I think of it as a language with lots of apostrophes. 

I wadn't plannin' on goin' down to Miss'ippi! (Siri tried to re-spell all those words) Last year when we moved to western North Carolina, I heard some similar, yet familiar "talk"----the grammarian in me couldn't help but smile.

I still emphasize the use of lay as to put or place, and lie as to rest or recline! Just ask my kids or grands!

This past week I read Jan Karon's most recent book, Beloved. 

The book took me back to a similar language that was in her lineage growing up in western North Carolina. She added a few new characters who lacked certain enunciation skills but the story line, with a Christmas theme, still focused often on the kindness of Father Tim.

At 88, she now lives in Black Mountain, NC. 

Beloved began with a dedication For Candace, Beloved Child of Light 

The book's brief prologue read, 

Beloved, 

let us love one another, 

for love is from God.

1st John 4:7    

I was glad I read the book's AFTERWORD because i realized the challenging time in her own life which deeply affected her and kept her from writing. Her only child and beloved daughter, Candace Freeland died of Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer. Without her, life was "without savor", Karon said. (Beloved. p. 413) Five months later her brother, Barry died. 

Jan Karon returned to the language she knew best and started writing---

it became her balm....a metaphor/language for healing and comfort.

CHOOSE: UPWARD SPIRAL

Noticing this downward spiral stair case inside the new Church Health Center at the Crosstown Concourse started me thinking.

In my thinking, spiraling usually has a downward connotation.
In one's thought life, is it just as easy for something to spiral upward?

I assume bad choices and stressors in life can have tremendous negative impact---a downward spiral of sorts. But....can there be a positive spiral, one with an upward motion?

Recent marginalia sent me on this pursuit of understanding positive and negative emotions. Are there benefits to both?

Negative emotions can help us survive. Positive emotions help us thrive.

If a downward spiral is a metaphor for deterioration (negative) then upward spiral must be a metaphor for growth. (positive) Yet, both have momentum. 

For sure, too much of any spiral can be dizzying. Upward spiral is directed towards a higher place. But what happens if a downward spiral in one's  thought life has them bottoming out emotionally? Physically? Spiritually?

Can a successful turnaround occur just by choosing the "thought" direction of one's spiral? 

According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s book, Confidence, an upward spiral focuses with confidence. Certain resources that accompany this confidence could be trust, accountability, knowledge, or any asset that helps a business, community or individual thrive.

If so, I choose today to think on and "thrive" with an upward spiral focus.