Do you read my blog and wonder why I’m not talking about the elephant in the room – the virus that has taken over the news, personal conversations and social media feeds?

It’s not because I don’t have opinions. Very simply, it’s because I choose to focus on things that make me feel good.

In the last few months, every time I write a post I wonder very briefly if I seem oblivious to the goings-on in the world.

But I know what makes me feel good and it’s not the current world events, so I go on to write about my garden, or my ducks or something else that brings me joy in some way or other.

I try to do this throughout my day – to choose thoughts that are positive and uplifting. I’m a product of the broader culture in which looking for the good is naive and looking at what is wrong is being ‘realistic’. But many years of writing gratitude lists, sharing gratitude as a family nightly around the dinner table and looking for the good have made an impact on me. I’ve become less oriented towards complaining and focusing on all that is wrong.

I know that what I focus on will increase, and I find it valuable to consciously consider what I want to increase in my life.

This is a spiritual exercise every day, and in recent months it’s gotten quite a workout. Everywhere I go, everyone I interact with – it seems there’s just one topic that people want to discuss. And I’m not interested. I just don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think about it

I want to be happy. I want to find joy in my daily life. I want to feel safe in the world.

Is that walking through the world with blinders on? No. I see what is happening. I’m very, very aware.

And it’s because I’m aware that I choose to focus on things that feel good.

Avivah