From the positive field:

Here are some posts from my "positive fielding" blog (part of that research study)... I thought this blog could use a dose of gratitude (since I so frequently use this poor blog as a place to vent/complain).

Post #2:

I felt very happy painting the furniture I found in the basement. I like doing things with my hands, preferably with music in the background. I like being outside, even if I'm not looking directly at the outside (as in the case of paining on the porch). It's like the aliveness of the outside still seeps in my periphery and that is also good.

My lover and I played a game on the porch and then danced! It made me grateful for her and for where we live, that we have the kind of privacy to do that without worry.

Feeling connection and collegiality with my coworkers... feeling like I belong.

Finding a ute change purse at the thrift store for 50 cents. Yes I am that shallow (and cheap) :)

I saw a bird chirping wildly from the dead center of letters above a story. He was in the "O." And it seemed like he had been put there as a mascot for the store, or a "greeter" to herald the customers. It was very ironic, like I was in a cartoon or a musical where things like that happen and situate themselves perfectly.

A good song came on my ipod-- one I hadn't heard in months and forgot I owned (ah the glory of ipods, which recover lost cds)... and I danced in the car to R.E.M. :)

Sitting outdoors at the pizza/taproom reading a book in the sun. Then my two friends randomly arrived with a random friend of theirs. I love this kind of spontaneous meeting. And then my lover (planned) came and we all had dinner together and I felt like I had a community again. Hardly anything makes me happier than running into friends and embarking upon spontaneous hang-out time. It seems better when it's not planned, somehow. ;)

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Post #1:

The cat: whatever she does. Especially her sitting in the window, her bad-ass eyes always looking at the world, the presents of dead animals she brings on the porch... the complaining we do about them but love them all the same. Today it was the cat in the window with the candle lighting her.

Lying in my bed with my lover and this really excited feeling came over me like it used to late at night when I was a kid (especially at sleep-overs)-- the feeling like you are full of projects and questions and can't wait for the next day to come, and you want to talk a lot. And I realized that I had what I wanted and never thought I'd have: a true partner to share my feelings with. Corny, I know, but it made me want to take advantage of it more... knowing that is precious and rare and fragile. And amid the excitement feelings my friend's song entered, which is known as "The Happy Song." The melody is perfect and the lyrics list a series of wonderful events. I wanted to add another verse, but knew it was better as it was.

Sitting in the sunlight in the kitchen in the morning (my favorite time) and finding my co-worker on facebook to chat with. I miss work, miss her and them. Her spritely humor amused me greatly.

Playing music with my friend P. A moment when it was just good. And the song went like this; it was an Uncle Tupelo cover we were working on:

Early in the morning, sometimes late at night
Sometimes I get the feeling that everything's alright
Early in the evening, sometimes in the day
Sometimes I get the feeling everything's okay
Because everything cuts against the tide
When you're by my side

Name me a song that everybody knows
And I'll bet you it belongs to Acuff-Rose
Children in the playground, the folks in the home
Anybody anywhere who's ever been alone
Because everything cuts against the tide
When I hear that sound

{And the shortness and simultaneous fullness of the song made me think of Flannery O'Connor, which always makes me happy.}