It took a while to figure out, but last night, while I was trying to get to sleep, I had a revelation: everything is the same. We need change in our lives to keep things interesting. I work at home, and I travel for business. At least I usually do. Lately there hasn’t been much travel needed. So I sit in my house all day long, not seeing much of the world. Last night, I was thinking about where I’d like to be: the beach? The desert? Asleep? Anywhere but here? The mountains. Yes, the mountains! What a refreshing change it would be to see hills and trees and breathe the fresh air for a few days without the constant glow of my computer keeping me company! No one calling or sending e-mails asking for silly things, or not calling at all. I started thinking about places in the mountains, and I suddenly felt comforted. I didn’t even have to go there. All I had to do was know that it was there waiting for me, and it didn’t seem so important anymore. Wow what a vacation that was!
Yesterday, a friend posted a funny picture on Facebook. It was a 50s-style cartoonish picture of a woman who said, “I don’t have hot flashes. I have short, private vacations in the tropics!” She takes a less-than-optimal experience and found a more positive way of expressing it. This is sort of what I experienced in the mountains. Transforming a bland, almost negative thought into a positive experience, just by thinking about it. (Please don’t write to tell me that hot flashes and wishing I was in the mountains are completely different situations. I think I figured that one out already!)
Another Facebook friend provided another thought to ponder on, complaining about being poor. This friend just bought a new computer and got a new car last year, but she sees herself as poor. Maybe she doesn’t have what other people have, but she has a lot more than many others. She isn’t poor. She is just thinking poor. What we think about is drawn to us, and becomes what we create. There are people who are financially rich who have no friends, or much to show for their wealth except a pile of money. There are others who have practically nothing, who are the richest people on earth, because they can find happiness in what blessings they do have. We spend so much time thinking about what we don’t have, and very little on what we do. Funny how that works.
Everything begins in the mind. Every experience we have. Every idea that has ever been acted on. It all started with a thought. Our thoughts create our reality. It is our thoughts that create our perception about situations, and it is the same thoughts that can dig us out of them.
So when you find something in your life that isn’t quite in line with your expectations, think about it. What are you doing to cause that perception? What can you do to change that perception? Think about it!
Blessings…