Quoted:
Alright GAHTFers, with all the doom and gloom lately, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and depressed.  The Army teaches a form of mental resiliency that I like to use called hunting the good stuff.  Basically, at the end of every day, you sit down and write out three good things that you witnessed/received/did that day, and explain to yourself why they make you feel good.  Yeah, it may seem corny, but it works.  We need to do some serious hunting in here, and I'll start with a few from the last couple of days:

1.  I broke a big rule of mine by going out for lunch yesterday in uniform.  I usually hit a drive through or eat at my office, because everytime I go out in uniform, someone gets my check.  It's nice, but it happens so much that I feel bad- I feel that I am not special, and that I don't deserve the act.  Well, I went to Chilis, and sure enough, someone paid my bill.  When I was given the news, I decided to do something different.  I paid the bill for a family of four sitting across the aisle from me.   It made me feel good because I get deep satisfaction from helping people whom I don't know.

2.  I witnessed someone give a complete stranger with two little girls, two little princess bicycles complete with helmets, horns, tassles, et cetera, and say, "Merry Christmas."  It made me feel good because it showed me that there are still good, giving people in this world.

3.  This evening I witnessed an entire parking lot stop and watch a neonatal care ambulance go screaming by; I heard several utterances of, "God help that little child," "I hope the little one makes it," and, "that poor family."  It made me feel good because that child is being given every chance possible to live, and because people stopped worrying about petty crap for just one moment to reflect on what is important in this world.  I still feel awful for the family and child, but the show of support from the people around me was uplifting.

Go- hunt the good stuff.