Think About it!

“Something is  ‘a foot,’ I’ll talk with you about it later.” 

Think About It!

“Something is  ‘a foot,’ I’ll talk with you about it later.”  The message said.

It was a message about company intrigue and internal politics.  Perhaps more importantly it was a message about how you and I make choices everyday in the subconscious part of our minds, without really thinking about it.

Most of us are already aware of what we consider to be our big choices.  Things like where we want to work, whom we want to marry, if we want to be honest, or even what we want to eat for dinner.  Such choices tend to be what we consider the framework for our lives.  Yet, our lives are so much broader than this simple frame.

Here is a still simple and much larger life frame for consideration.  You create more of what you think about most, even when you don’t think you’re thinking about it.  Everyone is free to choose what they think about.

“You don’t really know what happened in that meeting.”  I replied.

“No.  But, they were in there for two and a half hours!”

“Yes.  And, you’ve decided to make the rest of it up in your mind.  Let it go and focus on what really matters in your life.  You get to decide what you want to think about!”

You and I get to decide what we want to think about and in so doing we are also deciding who we want to be.  When we have thoughts and process them for a while we must decide either to keep them or replace them with something better.  Are you feeling afraid, depressed, guilty, shameful, safe, heartened, hopeful, or giddy?  Are you conscious of choosing such attitudes and behavior?

Think about it!  What if you can start consciously choosing your attitudes and behavior in every moment?   What if you decided to think about forgiveness, gratitude, faith, compassion, understanding, optimism, and courage?  What if you decided to feel empowered, worthy, valued, cheerful, secure, kind, happy, lovable, calm, flexible, trusting, accepted, comfortable, confident, and peaceful at this very moment?  There are lots of good options to think about!

I learned about thinking choices from my friend Kristin Murdock.  I am very sure her personal motto is “Good things happen to me!”  She’s always been one of the luckiest people I know!  Good things happen to her all the time.  And, as a result, good things happen to me all of the time because I wanted to be like her and adopt her thinking habits.

Am I like her yet?  Sometimes!  I’m getting better at recognizing my unconscious thoughts so I can correct them.  Thinking about it is the key!

What could happen if you and I decide to choose what is “a foot” in our lives?  What wonderful changes could we see in our lives and ourselves?

Think about it! 

Living on a Tightrope

Big Changes

Living on a Tightrope

A direct line; I couldn’t see it, but it was there.  I knew it was there because I was talking with another person on the phone.  It was an especially difficult and fearful day for her and I was supporting one end of her rope.

“I liked things the way they were!” She said. “What would have been wrong with leaving things just as they were?  Everything was going exactly the way I wanted it to!”

Then, a couple of days later, another person connected with me.

“They just laid off everyone in my department except my boss and me!”  The other voice said to me through my telephone.

That’s when I realized I was being a witness to the clear exposure of another line, the “Tightrope of Life.”  These calls revealed that much of life is learning to walk a tightrope, find your balance, and trust the universe, and yourself in the process.  During these two phone calls I was there, right on the high wire, coaxing, and encouraging.

“My whole career has been destroyed!”  I heard the first voice say.

“Do you still have your job?” I asked. 

“Yes.”  She replied when asked this question.

“So, in reality, there is no failure in these events for you.  You haven’t lost anything.  Can you tell me what opportunity has been revealed to you as a result of this experience?”

There was silence for a few moments.  I could feel the struggle coursing along the line.  I’ve experienced such frightening experiences myself; the terrifying view, looking straight down from a tightrope to the ground.  A shift from the terrifying view of the ground, the feared calamity, to focus ahead, on the promise of a bright future was essential at this moment.  I waited.

“Now is the time!”  I thought to myself.  “You’ve invited them to allow the power of trust to work in their lives. Wait for it!”

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned from living life is that no matter how difficult or hopeless an experience seems it is in your life to serve you in some way.  Life’s trials are never useless unless one chooses to surrender to them.  And, the voice coming through my phone just verified that there was no surrender in sight!

“I guess this is really the opening of a door for me!”  She said with a new found confidence.  “It has created a sort of opening to allow me to pursue the path toward what I really want to do!”

She had lifted her eyes! Now she had changed her focus to be firmly fixed on the promise of new opportunity.  She had regained balance on her life’s tightrope and was moving forward again with trust in herself and life’s process.

Life’s process can sometimes feel as if we are living without a safety net.  But, we aren’t! Trust creates the net.

Trust the goodness of the universe. Trust yourself.  Trust life’s process.  Trust keeps you balanced while living on the tightrope of life!  It is a direct line to peace and happiness. 

Wakeup Call

“An upsetting phone call”

Wakeup Call

As the call went on, I could feel an eruption forming deep in my chest.  I tried to suppress it time and again.  I was put on hold.  The eruption smoldered for the next five minutes as I waited and waited.

“You will have to go to one of our stores.”  The voice said as soon as the hold ended.

That was the moment when the eruption spilled from my chest and had voice!  The call and my patience ended at the same time, but the learning moment was just beginning.

There are times when I forget the purpose of life.  And, when that happens I am unable to put experiences in their true context.  Over my lifetime I’ve learned that every thing happens for a reason and that everyone who comes into my life is there for the same reason.  Life is a school and the events as well as the participants are all uniquely combined so as to help you and I become the most we can become.  I forgot that while in the middle of the frustrating phone call.  Luckily, that the call was over and the life lesson was about to brought to the forefront.

The beginning of the next day ushered in more events, more people and more lessons.  I was calmer by morning so my day of absorbing life’s lessons was much easier.  It was sort of routine living with a few “ah-haw” moments until late morning when I arrived at the store, where I was directed to go from last evening’s phone call.

I walked into the store and spoke with a young man about the issue.  He politely assisted me to solve the problem and then came the charge.

“That will be $303.”  He said.  “How would you like to pay?”

I was puzzled!  “I was quoted $435 last night.  Are you sure the amount is correct?”

“Yes.”  He said as he swiped my card and pleasantly handed me the receipt.  “If you would be kind enough to give me a good review for helping you when you’re contacted I would appreciate it.”  He continued.

“From 0 to 10!”  I said with a smile.

It was less than a minute from the store to my car and that’s when my smile got even broader.  It was a sort of embarrassed, happy little smile as I recognized that I had just received another of life’s continuing little “wakeup” calls.

I had been reminded of perhaps life’s greatest purpose.  You and I are being schooled, while we’re alive here, and this is experience reminded me that everything we’re taught is for our benefit in the end, even though its hard sometimes.  Everything happens to bring goodness and success in to our lives.  And, while this fact is often hidden, keeping this little bit of knowledge in the forefront of our day-to-day interactions enables us to live happier, calmer and perhaps more assuredly that everything will turn out for our benefit in the end!

Surprise Party

“The Birthday Cake Principle”

Surprise Party

It was the other side on the other side our world.  Everything was different.  I thought I knew how different it was and I was willing to accept that, or so I thought.

It was my birthday!  And, I left my home with lots of preconceived notions about what should happen on a person’s birthday, especially my own.  Certainly those working in my office would have a cake for me and we’d sit for a few minutes, eat a little cake, and enjoy each other’s good company.  Perhaps, I thought, there would even be some small decoration in the office marking the importance of this day.  We may even all go out to lunch together to celebrate.

I walked in through the office door expecting celebration.  There was none! And, I felt instant disappoint pulse through my heart.  There were no small decorations.  There was no cake.  There was no hint of distinction for this day.  It was just another day of work and as the day continued I labored to set my disappointment aside, but soon felt an unsettling discontentment floating in the cool, conditioned air.

I had been so focused on myself when I came to work that I hadn’t noticed the puzzled faces throughout the office and as the first hour of business was creeping to an end my friend Junji made a quiet, heartfelt inquiry.

“Isn’t it your birthday?” he asked quietly.  “Victor and I thought it was, so we told everyone.”

“Yes it is!” I answered with a little excitement because of the acknowledgement.

“Aren’t you going to buy us some cake?”  Junji continued.  “We were all so excited to celebrate your birthday, but when you didn’t bring cake to the office we were a little embarrassed.  I thought I had given everyone the wrong information!”

They didn’t have the wrong information! I was on the other side of the world all right!

“I’m so sorry!”  I apologized.  “Where can I find the best cake?”

Junji told me where I could find the best cake and I left immediately without telling a soul where I was going.  I didn’t want to ruin their surprise party!

Surprise! The party began upon my return and we all had cake together while enjoying each other’s good company.  It gave us a chance to talk experience the Birthday Cake Principle first hand.  They taught me about their birthday traditions so we could enjoy every one of them on what turned out to be one of the most special days of my life.  And, it was more than just a special day.  It was the day I discovered that when others do things in a contrasting way, a way different than we do it ourselves, or the way we were taught it should be done, it doesn’t mean they’re wrong.  It simply means it is different!  And, such differences can add delightful surprise to our lives.

 We can all have our Birthday Cake Principle and eat it too!