1- Keep your thoughts positively aligned.
Certain thoughts …
1- Keep your thoughts positively aligned.
Certain thoughts can bring sadness. If we allow our minds to dwell on them, we will consequently feel the sadness. The solution to this is realizing that negative thoughts have come into our minds. When we see this happening we can redirect our thoughts to a more positive perspective.
2- There are different ways to see the exact same event.
To illustrate this fact, let’s take a real life example. Some people think that birthday parties are a waste of time and feel very annoyed if they have to plan one. They can either throw the party while grumbling and complaining or they can change the way they look at birthday parties and be joyful while planning them. A positive way of looking at birthday parties is that they are great for the personâ€s self esteem and provide a wonderful opportunity to bring family and friends together for a fun time.
The same event can be seen through a positive light or a negative one. The power is in our hands to choose the perspective that we want to have in any situation in life. We can do the same task with happiness or with gloom. Itâ€s completely up to us.
3- Be aware of your internal dialogue.
Everyone has an internal dialogue going on in their minds. Some people are more aware of it than others. The more aware you are of what goes on in your mind, the more power you have over those thoughts. It may be that you are feeling positive and all of a sudden anxiety and stress start to take over your soul. Some kind of negative thought took hold and it can happen in just one moment. The second you see this happening you need to tell yourself that any negative thought is not true. Simply decide that you wonâ€t accept them and start to repeat good, uplifting and positive thoughts to yourself until you feel your soul be free of sadness or anxiety.
4- Incorporate certain habits for a more relaxing life.
Tension and stress donâ€t leave a lot of room for us to experience joy. The more you can do each day to relieve tension and stress the more happiness you will feel. Take certain steps to be have more peace and calm in your daily life. Listen to calm instrumental music, talk to a fun friend on the phone, take breaks in between tasks, take long hot baths, practice a sport at least 3 times a week. Reward yourself when you finish a difficult project. Life is not just about work work work. Give yourself permission to simply rest and be entertained. Your soul needs it.
If you do these things you will be creating a lifestyle that is joyful. By the way, the image in this post is my watercolor painting that’s called “Tree of Joy”.
Eren Mckay is a stay at home mom to 3 boys. She has a website with creative baby shower ideas. You can find different themes such as the ladybug baby shower , rubber duck baby shower and resources like monkey baby shower invitations on her site.
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I still haven’t decided whether or not to reveal my true identity in this blog. I kind of like the idea of it being secret. I’ve written plenty of other blogs, but I’ve always been guarded in my writing, knowing that anyone could read it and identify me. Anyway, it’s something to think about…no decision has to be made today.
]]>Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it.
After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity … boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile.
Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?
Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
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