Stimulating Thoughts

“Time spent with family and friends.”

 Stimulating Thoughts

I went to do something I would never have done on my own!  It caused me to reflect on the words of William James.

William James, the great Harvard psychologist, once asked this question, “How would you like to create your own mind?” But, isn’t that exactly what you and I have been doing our entire lives? Professor James explains, “The mind is made up by what it feeds upon.” He said that the mind, like the dyer’s hand, is colored by what it holds. If I hold in my hand a T-shirt full of red dye, my hands will surely become red. And if I hold in my mind and heart great ideas of faith and enthusiasm, my whole personality is changed accordingly.

So, if we think negative thoughts, we develop negative minds and attitudes. If we think depraved thoughts, we develop depraved minds. On the other hand, if you and I think enlightened thoughts, then we develop enlightened minds and fulfill the meditation of Edward Dyer when he wrote:

My mind to me a kingdom is,

Such present joys therein I find,

That it excels all other bliss

That earth affords or grows by kind.

But, our minds are not a kingdom alone.  We are influenced by the thoughts and actions of others.  Thanks goodness!  If this were not the case then the world would be a dismal place indeed.  We need the encouragement of other people to draw us out of our own one-dimensional worlds.  Family friends drew me out of my one-dimensional world just a couple of days ago.

As a result of their invitation I went to Boise and we enjoyed a barbeque where I met new and interesting people.  Then, we went to the Idaho Shakespearian Festival to have a picnic dinner and engage with a play.  I have to admit to you right here that I usually avoid plays of all types because they cause me to become drowsy.  Yes!  To all of you theater lovers out there I have been to the best Broadway offers and yes, I slept.

But on this night I did not sleep.  I was shown a world, in the play and outside of the play that I had never imagined.  In fact, I commented to my wife, “I had no idea people did this kind of thing!”  Of course I knew that there are people who love plays and they spend lots of time and money enjoying them.  And, I knew that people like to go out and have picnics at such events.  But, I had allowed my mind to feast on its own for so long that it has become quite one-dimensional.

So thank you to my friends and family for offering me these stimulating thoughts!  These wonderful people have given me more than an unforgettable day.  They have given me a vision of what my life could become if I will simply allow others the opportunity to give me new and stimulating thoughts.  Doing so will in no way shrink my minds kingdom.  It will allow it to expand and become beautifully diverse.  How dismal the universe would be without its infinite miscellany!

What have you and I missed by not accepting invitations from people who do not think as we do?