My views on life, my predisposing thoughts, my attitudes, my beliefs, influence how I think, how I act, and how I react. I can stub my toe and swear, shout and curse; I can, a-la Homer Simpson, say politely, "Fiddle-dee-dee, I seemed to have broken my toe", yet all the while curse inside my head; or I can register the pain, discount my clumsiness for what it is, and move on.
We, all of us, have our own predisposed--sometimes even brainwashed--belief systems. We all have our own outlook on life, which influences how we view life in general. Our thoughts, our views, can change, however, and thus our views and outlook on life change accordingly.
Goodness me, this is sounding a bit dry here. Might as well spark it up with some life examples.
So!
Case-in-point: Last night, as I wrote in my Facebook blurb today, I mistakenly left a big bag of birdseed outside all night. Come the morning sun, morning birds, and morning sweat (cause it was a hot one, oh my), I peeked outside my door and strewn across my patio/porch was this light grainy-coloured substance. As sleep left my beleaguered eyes, my brain kicked into high gear, and came to the conclusion that, "No, that is not sand, nor beige-coloured snow, that is your birdseed. Correction, was your birdseed."
Now a decade or so ago my then-self would have let fly a string of explicatives that would have made even the most hardened sailor blush. that is a true story. My new yesterday-morning self, however, looked at the seed in dismay, sighed, and went straight away to clean it up. My views in life, my newer frame of mind, my beliefs, they shaped my thinking and actions into a more constructive way of acting.
Flash-forward to work. Having sat for 45 minutes without my first work-coffee, I picked up my cup at the normal pick up speed, anxious to get some caffeinated memory-juice into my body. Unbeknownst to me, on the Friday I had half a cup of cold coffee to meander in my mug for the entire weekend. Who in their right mind is going to clean out their cup just before a sunny weekend, am I right?
Anyone?
Hellllooooooo......?
Fine. Anyway, with the speed that my cup was lifted off the desk, half of the half-cup of coffee launched out of said cup, and slathered itself onto my pants, and a tad less on my shirt. Hardly an hour into my work day, and I had already achieved a day's worth of mess. Three day old cream, and smelly, smelly coffee had conspired to make me as offending as my 10th-Grade history teacher.
Although I let out another audible sigh, I did not curse. I dutifully went to the washroom, soaked my pants with tap water and then let the hand-dryer do the rest. In no time flat, I no longer looked like I peed myself; but I still smelled of some awful coffee.
Now here is where my outlook, my views, etc etc etc, on life come into play. I am not saying that I am a this fantastic person who has complete control over my emotions and actions ('cause I don't), but, nevertheless I could have easily let the first two morning instances ruin my day (I mean come on, who wants to sit next to Coffee McSmelly Pants?), I could have dwelt on my stupidity, and I could have talked myself into a self-deprecating rut. I did not, however, as I do firmly believe that what I speak over myself has great power, for good or ill. If I continually call myself "stupid" when I mess up, I will talk myself into actually becoming that type of stupid. If I constantly think I am getting sick; or that I will not heal, then by gum, guess what will happen over the next few years?
It is even scientifically proven, in the books "The Brain that Heals Itself"; and "Who Switched off my Brain"; and "A Stroke of Insight." (All different authors, but meh, you can look up the names yourselves). What we think, what we tell ourselves (and what we believe when others tell us something) definitely does affect our thoughts, our health, and our well-being.
Maybe that is why when cruddy things occur in my life, one thing that kicks into gear is my humour. And from there, my outlook changes from "ill-humour", to "sense-of-humour". Granted, it doesn't happen all the time, as I am flawed and human--but for the most part, I try to approach life with the viewpoint that no matter what I have gone through; no matter what I have lost; no matter what pain I am in, I still have the breath of life in me, and by that fact, I have the choice to look upon life as a blessing, or a curse. And humour gets me to that point. May God give me the wisdom and strength and power to always look at life as a blessing.
So this isn't exactly what I thought I was going to write, but most times when I write I only have a basic premise orbiting around the asteroid that is my head, and from there I let my mind and fingers (and thumbs) do the rest.
As a final thought, the words we speak and the thoughts we think and allow to grow in our fertile minds have great impact on how and where our lives move. We have all seen those self-help books, "Think Your Way into a Great Relationship"; "Will Yourself to Great Health"; Stuart Smally's self-affirming mantra, "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggonit, People Like Me." This New Age stuff may sound new and exciting, but really, this was covered thousands of years ago in that Best-Selling Book, the Bible.
(As an aside, just because a thought is thousands of years old, does not make it outdated. Some thoughts and ideals stand the test of time, because they are True, and True Absolute Truth cannot be abolished or destroyed.)
Had I the time (and the light, as it is now dark outside--and I have laundry to do) I would write out millennia-old bits of wisdom stressing the importance of pure self-directed thoughts. Another time, mayhaps.
Until then, I breathe the breath of life that I am thankful for, revel at the beauty of God's Creation, and marvel at how comfortable it is to lean back in a comfortable chair, and enjoy the sights and sounds of Nature.
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