“When we’re having a toothache, we know that not having a toothache is a wonderful thing. Yet when we don’t have a toothache, we’re still not happy. A non-toothache is very pleasant.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

What’s not wrong today?

The usual question is: “What’s wrong?” It’s a question where compassionate humans seek to help and understand others. It is also a question we may wake up and ask ourselves. It is a leading question, predetermining that something MUST be wrong and indicates that the response should coincide with the “wrongness” that is happening. 

That which we focus on grows. By asking this leading question, we immediately shift our focus to the negative that surrounds us. Since our brain is hardwired for negativity, it becomes very easy to answer or FIND something that is wrong. Try it now; you can almost immediately find something wrong with your current situation. You may even find distaste in this article telling you to find something wrong. If I haven’t lost you to negativity, keep reading.

The truth is, our senses are flooded with information. According to MIT Research, half of our human brain is devoted directly or indirectly to vision. And that is just one of our many senses. Although the accepted five senses of vision, touch, taste, sound, and smell are the most common, humans have 21, or 53, or perhaps thousands of senses based on how you define them. They are broken down into four categories: radiation, feeling, chemical, and mental.

Your radiation senses determine moods, color, temperature, light, and dark. Your feeling senses allow you to feel gravity, air/wind pressure, and motion while the chemical senses control hunger, thirst, or hormonal senses. The mental senses allow you to feel pain, have a sense of self, and feel companionship. All these senses are currently working as you simply try to focus on reading this article. Your senses are constantly working for you, trying to keep you balanced and aligned – and it is happening ALL THE TIME.

With so much happening, it is easy to find something wrong; however, the inverse is also correct. With so much happening, there is always something that is RIGHT. Maybe you feel a lot of mental worry, but maybe you DON’T have a toothache, and as Thich Nhat Hanh said, “A non-toothache is very pleasant.”

All the while, everyday, beautiful things occur. The mere fact you are alive, breathing, and able to read this article means something is RIGHT. As we begin to shift our perspective and allow ourselves to focus on what is right, we can grow our ability to spot the good that is always in front of us. We strengthen the sense of positivity, and we strengthen our sense of gratitude for that which is working.

Shifting the focus on what is right isn’t going to stop things from being wrong. You are a complex human being, and always feeling happy is unnatural. However, by making this simple shift, you allow yourself to cultivate optimism, so when your mood shifts, you know it will be temporary. You can begin to build the resilience needed to sit with the difficult times of life and still know there is good surrounding you. Most importantly, focusing on what is good gives you a sense of control in your own attitude. 

Smile, breathe, focus on one of your many senses that works well. Relish, enjoy the moment with that sense, and continue to ask yourself, “What’s NOT wrong?”