Small and white and happy, even in 120-degree weather, the dog was inexplicably upbeat.
Just leave him alone, Grossi told himself.
After all, he was cute, but you cant just approach a dog in the middle of Afghanistan.
Photo by Nora Parkington
Grossi started to turn around.
Thats when he heard it.
Thump, thump, thump.
The dog was wagging his tail.
Grossi was shocked and confused… and intrigued.
He got closer and held the jerky out.
This was Grossis first introduction to being stubbornly positive.
Thats how Grossi has come to explain the mindset of being stubbornly positive.
Stubborn positivity doesnt mean you avoid your problems.
Its rooted in the idea of the obstacle is the way.
When Grossi originally walked into the prison, he was filled with doubt.
He was expecting the guys on the inside to be full of excuses and lacking in any accountability.
Thats because he preferred toreward good behaviorthan punish bad behavior.
The inmates establish incredible bonds with these dogs over a year, and then they give them away.
It makes me cry because its incredible, Grossi confesses.
Theyre in their own toxic place just like Fred was in Afghanistan, and theyre wagging their tails.
Theyre finding a way from behind the wall to impact the world in a beautiful way.
Stubborn positivity has become his raison detre, and Fred continues to show him how to do it.
But it was Fred that showed him that he had to take charge of his trauma.
When they were walking home afterward, Grossi started to cry.
Fred had pulled the story out of him, the first step along ahealing journey.
Now he wants to pull stories out of others.
It isnt about being positive no matter what.
Its choices, Grossi observes.
you could choose to see the negative, and you will.
And its not that I dont see it, its not that I dont understand that its there.
Its just, life is so short and precious.
