Dear Jake,

Benjamin

My name is Benjamin.  I was born in a small village in rural China.  When I was 10 days old, I was found on a park bench and brought to the local orphanage.  At first, the doctors thought I had congenital heart disease.  They put me in a special program so a loving family that was willing to adopt a child with a heart condition could adopt me. This past January my forever family came to China to get me.  They were a bit confused when I didn’t have any scars on my chest.  You see, they were told I had had an operation.  When they asked about it, the local representative from their adoption agency pulled them aside and told them my secret story.  The doctors figured out that there was nothing wrong with me but the people at the orphanage mixed up my paperwork with another baby’s on purpose so I could stay in the special program.  This way I could be adopted.  It turns out that if there was nothing wrong with me I would have been put in the traditional program and probably wouldn’t have been adopted for a very long time.  These people could have gotten in a lot of trouble if the Chinese authorities found out.  They took a big chance and I’m very grateful.  Now I’m home with my parents and our two dogs.  The doctors here say I’m very healthy.   My parents give me plenty to eat and lots of toys to play with.  They love me so much and my dogs love to lick me head to toe.  I’m so happy to be in America. That’s probably why my parents took this picture of me with my Life is Good cap. Let’s face it, I’m a very lucky boy and now life is SOOOO good!

Sincerely,

Benjamin Zonder

P.S.  My parents keep telling me that the day they got me was the best day of their lives so I guess life is pretty good for them too!

Technorati Tags: life is good story

Don’t know about you, but I’m getting really tired of hearing how bad things are in our country and in our lives these days, every time I turn around. Regardless of our individual politics, the constant negativity can be depressing.

So I can’t think of a better time to immerse myself with positive messages of encouragement and hope. Yes, things are tough and a bit scary right now. Some people are more directly affected than others, i.e automobile industry workers, local retail store owners (ha).

But you know, we live in a country of opportunity, even in the worst of times. I had the wonderful privilege of visiting the Middle East last year, and while it was a trip of lifetime in many respects, it also made me realize how fortunate I am to live in America. While things aren’t perfect here, we are so blessed to be able to speak freely, drink fresh water, worship openly, go to school, save what earn, come and go as we please, etc., etc., etc. So let’s make sure we count our blessings even on the tough days and make our mantra, “Life is good!”

What do you think about the power of positive thinking? Tell us your “life is good” story!

Technorati Tags: Good Stories, life is good story, life perspective