I'm Positive I Would Need This

If I was stuck on a deserted island

There are many things I could take.

I could be witty and bring a genie,

Or a telephone, or a plane!

But if I go a little deeper

And avoid the easy track,

I would say that my optimism

Is the thing that I should “pack.”

With optimism I can clear my head

And focus on how to survive,

Not wasting energy on being scared and sad

Is how I must learn to thrive.

This positive mindset is very important

To keep my spirits lifted,

I know that worrying doesn’t do much good

So I must have good from bad thoughts sifted.

Although optimism is good to have

Don’t confuse it with naïveté,

For if I believe all animals will be kind

I might end up as lunch that day!

But I can use this brighter outlook

To be smart and keep me sane,

Such as executing clever tricks

Like building a hut against the rain!

And who knows? Maybe it’ll be fun!

I could swim and play in the sand,

Enjoying this little surprise vacation

Before I’m brought back to the mainland.

It certainly is a new experience

Full of things from which to learn and grow,

And it’ll really make an exciting story

To tell my friends when I get home!

So as each new day comes with the sun

I would wake up and make sure

That I don’t get stuck in a wallowing spiral,

But hope that rescue will come to my shore.

It may take time, with a bit of struggle and fear,

But I won’t let that get me down.

I’ll work and learn and figure it out

Until I see help come around.

Now this works in any strange situation,

Sometimes hope is all we have.

We must remember to keep our chin up,

To persevere, fight, or just to laugh.

If we keep an optimistic view

When we are thrown out on the brink,

We have full power to get through any challenge -

You’re the only one that can decide what you think.