“Music has healing power.” 
Elton John

I was in middle school (1967) when Van Morrison, the singer-songwriter from Belfast, Ireland, hit the charts with his first hit song, Brown-Eyed Girl. Since that time, the artist has continued to create memorable tunes familiar to many of us. In 1995, Morrison released his twenty-third studio album, named after his new hit single Days Like This. The gist of the song is evident from the first three verses:

When it’s not always raining,
there’ll be days like this. 
When there’s no one complaining,
there’ll be days like this. 
When everything falls into place 
like the flick of a switch,
well my mama told me  
there’ll be days like this. 

When you don’t need to worry,  
there’ll be days like this.
When no one’s in a hurry,
there’ll be days like this. 
When you don’t get betrayed  
by that old Judas kiss, 
oh my mama told me  
there’ll be days like this. 

When you don’t need an answer, 
there’ll be days like this. 
When you don’t meet a chancer,  
there’ll be days like this.  
When all the parts of the puzzle  
start to look like they fit it, 
then I must remember  
there’ll be days like this.

Yes, sometimes everything just comes together and the world seems right. We wake up, two minutes before the alarm was set to go off, feeling well-rested. Everything we need for breakfast is available in the kitchen. When we hit the road, all the lights are green and other motorists are driving responsibly, cautiously, courteously. Coworkers verbally express their gratitude for the work we do. Customers are congenial and genuinely grateful for the service we provide for them. Everyone and everything seems to be as it should be. 

How often we experience days like this depends upon our outlook on life. Sadly, too many people, it seems, tend to focus on what’s wrong with the world and with those around them. One looking for such negativity is sure to find it. Similarly, those who look for the good in the world, who consciously make an effort to see the good in the people around them, are likely to recognize that such positivity is all around us. The choice is ours.

I know, as well as anyone, that not all days meet our expectations. Disappointment and sadness are realities we cannot escape. I believe that we can minimize these difficult days by embracing a positive mindset and accepting that, for the most part, the world is a good place and that people are basically good.