Be The Plus

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to spread joy to everyone they meet in their day? Every social interaction they have seems to leave both sides feeling uplifted, brighter, sunnier.

Have you noticed how some people seem to suck the joy out of the people they meet? Spending time with them leaves you feeling exhausted, duller and drained.

I first noticed this phenomenon when backpacking in the Peace and Love Hostel in Paris in 2004. I crossed paths with someone unique, incredible, amazing and completely bonkers. He would bump around from person to person, charismatically lighting them up and lifting their spirits. It was invigorating to be in his company. Sharing a few days of my life hanging out with him showed me a better way to live. It inspired me to seek out the wisdom required to be like him.

What is this amazing quality?

Well, let’s assume that there is some characteristic we experience when we feel uplifted. Let’s call it positive energy, just to give it a label.

Well, if this thing called positive energy exists, then we can observe it. We can see what leads to a rise in positive energy and see what leads to a fall in positive energy. We might get it from particular people, music, poetry, art or meditation, for instance.

If we successfully identify the things that lead to a rise in positive energy, we can choose to surround ourselves with those things. Conversely, we can choose to reduce the amount of things in our lives that lead to a fall in positive energy.

If we surround ourselves with things that lead to positive energy, then we can consciously cultivate this energy and let it rise and rise within us.

If we can consciously cultivate this positive energy, then we can ensure that we are always filled with it. We can monitor when our reserves are falling and consciously do the things that top them up.

If our reserves are always topped up, then we can overflow with positive energy and share it with others.

If we are continually overflowing with positive energy then think of the incredible impact we could have on the world. We could light up everyone we meet with joy. We could be pure forces for good in the world.

Sometimes the interactions between people are like little battles to take positive energy from the other. What if we were so filled with positive energy that we had no need to take from the other? What if we had our own inner source of positive energy that we could draw upon whenever we needed it?

What a beautiful way to live that would be.