The P ublisher Po stulates
if I dwell on it seriously. It is difficult
to get me into a negative, emotional
state because I try to be cheerful about
everything and relieve stress by ignoring
those things that trouble me. I distract
unhappy feelings and thoughts with
happy ones, even if it leads some to
believe I am callous or unfeeling. I prefer
to live in my self-created world of joy
and pleasantness. I can’t change most
things, so I see no reason to allow them
to get me down. Furthermore, I believe I
can survive more things with a positive
attitude than I can any other way.
Confrontation rarely benefits anyone,
yet encouragement and cooperation can
34 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MAY/JUNE 2021
accomplish much. A positive spin can
help any situation. There is nothing
so terrible that something good
cannot sprout out of it. I know I go
to the extreme in this philosophy of
life, but I believe the temptation to be
affected by the negative is so strong
that you must exaggerate the positive
to keep some balance in favor of the
good in life, not only for yourself, but
for those around you as well.
Even early kings understood
the need for a jester to temper the
activities occurring within their
courts. I like to serve as a modern day
jester, relieving some of the stress of
others by making light of woes and
masking those feelings with humor
and optimism. As Little Orphan Annie
sang in the musical Annie, “The sun will
come out tomorrow,” and if not, there is
a good chance that the rain will create
a rainbow. Either way, I will not miss
a meal. 9
In 1944, when Harold Arlen and
Johnny Mercer wrote “Ac-Cent-
Tchu-Ate the Positive,” Mercer’s
lyrics had a simple message –
to spread joy to the maximum and
bring gloom down to the minimum.
That is some of the best advice I ever
received in my life. Since hearing it
at age 7, I have tried to follow the
words of that song, which Mercer and
Bing Crosby made famous and which
was nominated for an Academy
Award in the movie, Here Come the
Waves. That message has been my
key to happiness. I have adhered to its
concept of eliminating the negative and
anything in between to allow me to only
pay attention to the affirmative, as the
song advises. This may be considered
by some to be a very unrealistic way to
live, but for me, it was wonderful. In
fact, my response to everything became
and still is, “Wonderful.”
I believe everything happens for
the best, and I can see the bright side
of any occurrence. To do so, I often
make light humorous remarks about
bad things. Some may believe that I am
being insensitive, but what I am doing
for myself is distracting my thoughts
from something that might disturb me
Publisher / Editor
ACCENTUATE
THE POSITIVE
By Aaron R. Fodiman
Optimists see the glass as half full, while a pessimist
sees it as half empty. I see it as refillable.
GRAM