Positive thinkingisamentalattitudein wich youexpectgood andfavorable results. Inother words,positive thinkingisthe process of creatingthoughtsthat create andtransformenergy intoreality.Apositivemindwaits forhappiness, healthanda happy endinginany situation.

More peoplebecomeattracted tothis notion, a good evidence is the increasinglycoursesand booksabout it. Positive thinkingis gainingpopularityamong us.

More andmoresuccessfulpeoplewill tell you thattheygot where they arenow becausethey madea lifestyle aroundpositive thinking. A person thatfaceslife witha positive attitudewill always bemore successfulin lifeboth professionallyandpersonally, than aperson thatcan nottake control ofhisthoughts.

I’ve been reading a lot lately about the state of the Navy and the other seagoing forces. To be sure, there have been a lot of technological advances in the past twenty years since I hung up my sword (literally). Submarines have reached new levels of sophistication that make them more efficient than ever before. Without going into any detail, I would have to admit that what I know from my reading indicates that these boats can literally outperform any previous class in nearly every category. Frankly, I would give them six months of retirement pay for one month underway on one of the newest fast attacks. I promise I wouldn’t eat much and I could try and remember my many skills as a mess cook if I were allowed a few hours on the helm. I wonder if they are still even using helmsmen and planesmen?

The surface ships…

Rarely a week or even a day goes by when we do not read or see a story concerning preventable deaths caused by firearms. Acts both criminally intentional and totally accidental are committed on a regular basis. Mass murders at schools, places of worship and shopping centers vie for space in the print media and airtime on broadcast media and cable alongside serial snipers, victims of domestic violence, cop killer ambushes, murder/suicides and every imaginable form of accident involving people of all genders, age groups, religions and mental states.

Many of these deaths and injuries are needless and highly preventable. Passing common sense legislation – or at least not passing laws that any person with even a modicum of common sense will see as disasters waiting to happen – could easily reduce their occurrence. The fact that our government has been so hesitant to break this cycle of preventable death…

Last month, I was sent an article from The Jesuit Post that has changed the way I read the news.  In it, Jason Downer, SJ suggests seeking ways to respond to violence creatively and prayerfully, resisting the temptation to tune out tragedy as a sort of coping mechanism, or as he puts it, turning towards rather than away.  He adds, “It can be something as simple as when reading articles about the violence, to go over them slowly, prayerfully.  If a name is mentioned, either victim or perpetrator, pray for that person by name.”

I thought about this as I came across the particularly harrowing story of a Yazidi teenager who survived a mass execution.  Indeed, I could only think of one way to respond.  Inspired by the Divine Mercy chaplet, which I’ve lately been praying on my daily walk to work, and by the prayer I’ve taken up –…