We are the authors of every next moment
In our lives we are always striving for control. I always want to be in control of the situation, and when I find myself not in control it makes me uneasy and insecure. For my birthday my boyfriend planned me a surprise party, he did a really good job keeping it a secret but I had this feeling that there was something he wasn't telling me. I like knowing what is going on, I like being able to plan things and have thing that I plan happen. Recently I have found that I'm having to more and more deal with this lack of control.We are powerful beings, creating our futures with our thoughts and actions.
There are many times when I just feel like I'm not that powerful being, that I can't create the future because someone else is making decisions for me. That I make plans and get excited when I know that I'm going to be seeing my boyfriend only to get a phone call telling me that he's not coming home this week, or that my friends actually aren't available to meet up tonight. It feels like I put the thoughts in and the actions just don't happen.
Personal Philosophy
I like most people have never sat down and thought about my personal philosophy. The book makes an interesting point that I have never really thought of before. It says that if your personal philosophy is to always view life positively then the things that happen in your life are all for the best, but conversely if you view things that happen in life negatively and are always saying that life is bad then you will have a hard time seeing the good.
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. - William ShakespeareHow many times has it happened that something bad happens and you let it ruin everything? This is what happens to me all the time, I'll be having a great day and then I spill something and make a mess and then view the whole day as ruined. According to this way of thinking because I let one bad thing cover everything else up I am causing more unpleasantness to come to me. Wouldn't it be so nice if you were just able to turn off that one part of the brain that is always throwing in the towel and saying "that's it you ruined everything!" Maybe that is just the next thing that I have to work on.
As you belive, so it is for you
The true man sees what the eye sees, and does not add to it something that is not there. He hears what the ears hear, and does not detect imaginary undertones or overtones. He…is not busy with hidden meanings. - Chuang Tzu
There is a quote that says a lot. We are always digging, looking for that hidden meaning in what someone else has said to us. Asking ourselves what did they mean by that? What did their tone of voice mean?You have to change the way your mind works. Stop thinking about the hidden meaning and work on being in the moment and trying to stay positive. The metaphor that the author brings is that you have to look at yourself like a railway track, there is a switch to see things positive or to see things negatively. Every occurrence that comes your way has the chance to go down the positive or negative track, you just have to decide which one your going to go down.
Have you ever had an event that you were able to look back on and realize that it really was a great thing to have happened? How have you been able to change the way that you think about how event have unfolded in your life? I'd love to hear what you have to think in the comments below.