So, first get comfortable in your meditation posture and gather awareness within. And then gradually focus your attention on an object of placement meditation, such as your breath, or the nature of your mind, or any other object you're familiar with. And just yeah, generate focused attention for a couple minutes. And so within this, you know, anything that you think about that's related to that is part of the meditation. But then in this context, distraction is when you start to find yourself thinking about something that's unrelated and not contributing to deepening your understanding or consideration of uh this topic, cultivating a positive outlook. So let's start by looking at our ourselves now. And so here the underlying kind of assumption is that, yeah, many of us find our minds filled with um observations of negativity, of bad news, um, misfortune, um, worry about you know uh what the future is going to be like in the economy or the ecology, the political environment. So maybe first let's take a moment and just be aware of those kind of like pessimistic outlooks, pessimistic views we have, and just be aware of those. And then we'll try to provide a counterbalance. Like to notice, does it, you know, how does it affect me when I dwell on these kind of bad news about things happening in my own life or in the world at large? Like personally, how does it affect me? Does it affect me in a helpful way or a harmful way? Okay, so now let's turn our attention to cultivating a positive outlook as a way to have a more balanced kind of view of ourselves and of the world and what's happening. Yeah, in our lives. So let's start by focusing on ourselves and just try to bring to mind all the instances of good fortune one has that you yourself have. For example, we can start. I mean, easy place to start is just in terms of our physical health. And I'll just throw out a few examples to kind of prime the pump now for you to think about in your own way. But for example, like just being alive, you know, like yesterday there was no guarantee we'd be alive today. But today we're alive. Just having the opportunity to experience like this moment of being alive. And then to whatever degree we're not hungry or thirsty, to whatever degree we're not we don't have illness, that we have some degree of health and physical comfort, energy, and space in the mind to meditate. Is how incredibly each one of those things we're so fortunate to have, and we so often take for granted. So look that way for a couple minutes in in relation to your own physical um being, physical well-being. And then other aspects of your life, you know, whatever degree of education or affluence, mental clarity, and understanding. So try to think of all the different instances of good fortune that we have, that you yourself have, that maybe you ordinarily don't consider. Instances of good fortune or examples of good fortune you have in relation to uh your environment. The place where you live, having a house, perhaps having, you know, an automobile or transportation, having access to technology like a laptop or a smartphone, which connects you to, you know, countless resources. And then also having, you know, supportive friends and family, the interpersonal relationships. How fortunate you are also in those ways. So we can ask ourselves, are there you know ways that I make a positive contribution in the world? Either through the way I treat my family and friends, through charitable work that I might do, or through the ordinary work that one's self is engaged in. So we can ask ourselves, how do I do I make any positive contribution to the world? And then not to get wrapped up too much in our own story, then let's think about others. So begin by focusing on just one or two other people that you know well, and reflect similarly, like what are positive things, what are like experiences of good fortune they have, and what are positive things that they do, positive contributions they make. And when I say like in the world, it means well tangibly, it means in the lives of others. What are ways to have a positive effect on the lives of others, whether they're children, their relatives, their friends, their peers, their clients, or whatever. So again, begin with just one or two other people and think about how they bring some good into the lives of others, into the world, and then gradually expand that. Think about more and more people in that way. This issue of um developing a positive outlook. So think about impermanence. Is it is it the case that most everything that's part of our lives is changing moment by moment? So our bodies are changing. Is it true that our bodies are changing moment by moment, our minds are changing moment by moment, our relationships with others, that other people also similarly changing moment by moment, and their relationships and connections with each other, and even the inanimate environment, the economy, the government, the ecology, the entire earth, entire universe, and so on. Is it true that all these things are changing moment by moment? Is it true that within all this change, well, how does the change happen? Is it all just totally chaotic? And by chance, purely by chance, or is it predetermined? And then and especially is it the case that our own intentionality plays a role? That our own intentions lead to actions, us acting in ways, us individuals and others, you know, acting in ways that they choose, and thereby creating change according to their desires. Is that freedom of free will essentially? Is that part of the the forces that determine how things change? Is our own intentionality? So then looking at the the universal nature of change and our own lives and the lives of others and the world, then this impermanence is like an opportunity. And then how within that sphere of change there is also our own intentionality, our free will, ability to make decisions and act according to our intention is another powerful force. So finally, we bring to that is it is it The case is it true of oneself? And then also ask in true of others, and begin with people you know it well, that we fundamentally want to be happy and want to bring improvement to our own lives, to the lives of those we care about, and to the world at large. So is that principle also there? That oneself and others want and want to be happy, want to make things better. And then also, is it the case that as individuals and as a society, as cultures, then we learn and grow and develop in our understanding that we try things, make mistakes, see what works, what doesn't work, and then develop more understanding and more wisdom to be able to more effectively bring about well-being of ourselves and others. And the fact that our understanding grows. I mean, all of these are things we can question. But if each of these are true, then together don't they provide a very powerful basis for a hopeful and positive outlook for the future of ourselves and others. But let's end by dedicating briefly by thinking that you know, rejoicing whatever the positive positive energy we've created through this meditation and discussion, and then dedicating that by the force of that, then in our own lives and the lives of other sentient beings. May the existence of suffering and the causes of suffering be reduced and eventually completely eliminated. And may well-being and happiness and our potential for the full development of our positive, of positive qualities of compassion, wisdom, and kindness, mental focus, and so forth be fully developed and grow. Grow and more and more and eventually actualize, may we all actualize our fullest, uh, our highest potential.