A lot of people see me as a cheerful happy person with a bubbly personality.
When you meet me and I greet you with a cheery, "Hello!" it's easy to imagine I've had a coddled life. That enthusiasm so many people think is naivety is simply love for life and my fellow human beings no matter how wretched they might feel or behave. I have not been coddled. At eighteen I was out to prove myself and I was loading trailers with the boys including some hardened gang bangers and druggies...sometimes faster then the boys. I'm not sure how that happened...I just had a lot to prove. I didn't use my gender to explain why I couldn't do things...I just had the idea that no matter what I could make whatever I did work. That's why supervisors would come to me and ask me to fill the last four walls of a trailer with as much as I could...and I would say. "Yup, I can do it..." and against all rational odds at that...I don't know how I did...I just did. I have had horrible experiences. Yet, I don't want to go into them. Sharing experiences is important, to let them out, admit them and then to adapt so that life becomes normal with them. You can't let go of horrible things that happen, because you learned from them but you can prevent them from happening again. At the same time, to dwell on them does no one any good. These are might simple rules for keeping myself positive when everyone else is dark...when other people are resorting to name calling and negative labels. Everyone has opinions. Nothing, no amount of social engineering or shaming will alter that from happening. The best thing is to change yourself...lead by example as Yeshua taught and rise above this darkness within your heart...finding the light within during the darkness is the way to truly being enlightened...enlightenment never comes from without but within your heart of hearts. Indulge Yourself I'm not talking gluttony here. Don't go out and buy an entire chocolate cake...then eat it just because a nail broke. If your Dad died though...go for it. I'm not going to stand in your way. When you experience deep and profound grief it's hard to sit down and just let it run it's course like a might emotional river that's sprung it's banks. Sometimes, a piece of chocolate cake or really good ice cream is a perfect compliment. Some tears, and each little indulgent bit...eases it somehow. The key is not do it for everything...to keep it to specific situations- times of extreme grief or extreme happiness. I know, it's strange to put both of those together...but emotions are like that because the association will lead to a balance between the two. When you're eating that cake thinking about the most terrible awful thing that could have happened...that did happen...you also feel the mix emotional memories of every personal victory that you have celebrated the same way. That makes it bitter sweet but it gives you hope...there are absolutely amazing fantastic days that happen against all odds...and days that are not so good. In some situations, for me, it's just as indulgent to lay in bed all day reading a good book. The idea is to associate certain rewards with certain situations. The more positive associations the better when your down and decide to indulge. Taking out time to appreciate yourself can be one of the most beneficial remedies for finding positivity. Complimenting Others I'm not kidding. If you want to feel good about yourself compliment random strangers. "Oh but that takes energy and I don't feel very generous with mine right now." Okay, if you're in saver mode and you just can't muster that's fine...crawl back into bed and read the above passage again. Pay attention to yourself, fulfill your emotional needs in whatever way you can to get to the point where you can go back outside.... Then get out and do something... If you see someone wearing a pretty necklace or who as a pretty ring...tell them as much. If they are dressed in a gorgeous outfit...tell them. Too often we don't compliment people when we think of it...you would be surprised how often after complimenting someones pretty dress how often they will wear it. Doing this to random strangers is even better. Yes, it can be appear creepy with the opposite sex....but for the most part people won't be freaked out. Especially if you keep it to normal interactions such as the cashier at the check our at your favorite grocery store, your favorite bank teller or the local Gardner who has an awesome truck. By complimenting other people you can see their moods completely change...it elevates them and you get a little boost yourself. After complimenting people all day and watching their delighted reactions it's really hard to be negative. Focus On The Locals In today's world we can become so fixated on what's going wrong with the world. Those poor people in Bosnia, Texas, or heck Canada. Poor poor Canadians... We focus so much on people we don't meet and don't know...on natural disasters that never happen where we live...crime that doesn't happen where we live...that the world can look like it's the Apocalypse. I bet if we took someone from the 1950's and showed them the Fox New's cast from just today, then dropped them back off int he 1950's and left them there...they would never have children because the future looks so bad they couldn't subject their children to such a miserable fate. Yes, all of that terrible stuff could happen to you... Yet, most of the time it doesn't. Most of the time you don't even know the people involved...you weren't there so you didn't witness it and for every event there is usually five different stories or perspective that vary widely based on the individual. Yes, you should care that people are hurt. Yes, you should stand up to unjust grievances and evil when you witness it...but if you don't I'm not certain you'll really have an effect on the suffering people. Yet, often when you donate the money goes towards some huge corporate non-profit that has a CEO earning millions or billions. So, while you might think you're supporting change you're just supporting that CEO by a personal jet. Stop listening to all of this terrible stuff happening to people you don't know. As an agent of change you realize you can't change that. What you can change are the people you do know and encounter every day. When you are a witness or party to such behavior you stand up and say no. I guarantee if you seek proof that some group hates you in some form you will find it with access to the Internet. There are Billions of people out there and somewhere someone is going to not like you based on some vague judgement without knowing your entire story. You don't get to plead your case to everyone you meet...so don't listen to everyone's opinion. The only thing that matters are the experiences you have in your life is in your immediate reality that you encounter every day and you can affect your reaction to it 100%. Bad Things Happen To Everyone If bad things happen to you it's not your fault. Nor is it the fault of other people in many cases they were originally victims who didn't know how to deal with the trauma and pain in a healthy way. They lash out at others in some attempt to bring people down to their level. Don't let them. There is no cosmic force that requires you to be tortured or punished or anything like that for any reason. In fact, as a cherished cosmic spark of the All-That-Is you have infinite potential. Most of the time bad things happen because you've had wake up calls. Wake Up Calls are upsetting, they tell you when you were on the wrong path. They tell you when you're not fulfilling your potential. If you ignore the small signs they just get louder and louder until you're left a deafened crumbled heap. That's part of the learning process on this planet and there is no reason to be bitter. I believe that we have infinite time to learn these lessons. I could say that with the potential existence of past lives we have many lives where we were the princess, the pirate, the good guy, the murder and the thief. We've exploited others and been exploited. We've lived lives of sacrifice and lives of indulgence... Yet, that won't comfort most. All I can say that Bad Things happen to everyone and you can't let it define you. Unhappiness, hate, fearfulness...that's all a choice. The Power of Choice A lot of people were raised by their parents in a way that violated their sense of choices. They were told for certain reasons they had no choice. When they said no their parents didn't listen. That's hard programming to over come. Part of learning about yourself in an intuitive way requires that you process your beliefs. What beliefs serve you...which ones other people gave you...and which ones are your own. Then when you identify a belief that does not really represent what you want...you Let It Go. A belief I held was that because my daughter died I had no right to ever be happy again. This belief came mostly from examples I had as a child in various forms from people I knew to the media. As soon as I realized how this belief was harming me...I let it go. I simple symbolic situation where I sat down, wrote the belief down on a paper, and then burned it (safely) in a bowl...and just the act of choosing not to believe gave me freedom. You have a choice to go through, identify beliefs that you have and let go of them. You might think that you can't be rich...because rich people can't go to heaven. I use this as an example because this was the reason Edgar Cacye was given for why he never seemed to be able to make much money. As a self-fulfilling prophecy you will never be rich because you are doing everything in your power not to be because you want to get to heaven. Let it go...that's someone else's belief from approximately 1900 years ago. Let alone I think this line has been grossly misinterpreted because Yeshua also spoke about the beliefs that people had that were self-fulfilling prophicies...but that's another story. One of the reasons why Faith Healing's worked in Yeshua's time was because the people BELIEVED it would work. He often says that he didn't heal the people but their choice to believe did. You can harness the power of belief for yourself...I can't promise that you won't face disappointment. The Small Stuff Finding a missing ring. A friend finding a Starbucks Gift Card you thought you had lost. Thinking one day, it would be nice to have a plant in every room of the house to help improve ambiance and air quality...and then boom having the opportunity to purchase more plants then you can handle fulfilling your desire... These have all happened to me and I consider them small little miracles...small little blessings... I don't pursue them because if I did they most likely wouldn't happen...as I would be looking for them to happen in a certain way. Finding a soul mate, I had given up all hope of meeting anyone who could fulfill all of my expectations...and when I gave up he walked into my life. A friend gave up on having kids...and had her miracle baby. Focus on the small stuff that does work out, not the major obstacles you face...because those major obstacles probably exist because those goals you've set for yourself aren't meant for you. Once you stop looking at the road block and start meandering down the path that it diverted you onto a wonderful thing happens... When you start appreciating the small little things...everything else falls into place in a magical way... Life starts to become effortless. Yes, sometimes you have to pull up your breaches, put on some butt-kicking boots and venture into the unknown...but the funny thing is that's why our souls are here...we like the unknown, we like the challenge...that's why it can be so frustrating when an introvert like me stops adding new experiences to my life. Conclusion There are a lot of ways to be positive in life. Let go of what is not yours or not meant to be yours. Embrace the small little miracles life has to offer. Focus on your day to day interactions not on people some distant place where you are not but in every little moment...every little interaction you have with even the person you might consider utterly insignificant to your life. That's how you can be an Agent of Change. We touch hundreds of lives every day, in small ways, you choose if you leave a negative thought in their mind...or you're the reason they wake up tomorrow. Fear and Hate never encourages anyone to wake up in the morning. Love and kindness...does...and in your actions every day in every moment you can express love and kindness to others. You never know, maybe your seemingly insignificant compliment to that clerk the fast food store prevented him from committing suicide, or tell a little girl at the story she's pretty after you just heard her mother screaming at her for misbehaving might leave an impression of kindness that alters the choices she makes in her adult life... Where there is Love there is Hope...and the one thing we really need to do in 2017 is really love each other with all of our flaws, ugliness, and imperfections...as much as we can. Maybe that guy with all of the tattoos looks scary but he would give you the shirt off his back if he knew you needed it. Maybe that guy who is so scared of gays is afraid he's gay on some level and never dealt with that question because it was so unacceptable to the community he grew up in. The only thing that defuses fear and hate is love and understanding. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:44: "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."
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Brave Soul! May Your Journey On The Path Of The Seeker Bring You Joy and Peace! I'm currently posting every Saturday. With a new addition the family I have pre-scheduled most posts through December 2022. Full Moon Posts will contain up-to-date content when I can get to them. Thank you so much for your support and understanding! This is a place where you can encounter new spiritual ideas that have helped me develop as an Individual On The Path of the Seeker. Take or Leave this information as you see fit. Archives
April 2024
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