Living Under the Influence of Siluva: The Power of Positive Thinking

As the 400th jubilee year of the appearance of Our Lady at Siluva closes, world news and US news begins to approach the apocolyptic. In the midst of this, I am afflicted by a peculiar good cheer. Is this the power of prayer or the onset of insanity? Don't hesitate to comment.

Today the New York Times ran an Op-Ed piece by Barbara Ehrenreich titled The Power of Negative Thinking. In this thoughtful piece Ms. Ehrenreich identifies a near delusional optimism as contributing to the current economic situation, citing pundits and gurus who have led citizens and corporations down the primrose path with a simplistic interpretation of the Law of Attraction that implies that focusing on a goal and refusing to think about impediments guarantees a successful outcome. I think that she has made a valid and original point.

Despite my appreciation of the piece, I couldn't help myself from smiling on the trip to work as I contemplated all of the good that could come out of the economic crisis:

• Maybe the destruction of Our Lady of Vilnius will now be costly rather than profitable.


• If gasoline prices are unaffordable, I'll be able to ride my bicycle down the Henry Hudson Parkway to work.


• If I lose my job, maybe I'll be able to farm potatoes, beets and cabbage on the lawn of the coop where I live. They'll have to relax their aesthetic standards to permit subsistence.


• My local weekly is flooded with articles on the "deer problem". Look on the bright side! Venison! Venison zeppelinai!


• Maybe we will all become lean, strong and attractive by necessity rather than by narcissism and surgery.


• Housing may now become affordable for the middle class, working class and even homeless. I am going to read up on squatter's rights.


• Maybe kindness will prevail now that more of us feel vulnerable. Maybe people will lose the delusion of their own omnipotence and turn to the infinite mercy of God.