Daily Inspiration 10-2-11

"Throughout all history, the great wise men and teachers,

philosophers, and prophets have disagreed with one another

on many different things. It is only on this one point that they

are in complete and unanimous agreement:

We become what we think about."

-- Earl Nightingale

I was thinking about some of my early training in the 1970s about PMA, or Positive Mental Attitude, positive thinking. They used to say, 'think positive.' There were a lot of books then about being positive and thinking positively as the way to turn your life around. What I found was that this strategy required a great deal of effort and was akin to being on a strict diet avoiding all the foods around us in our daily lives, and in restaurants, choosing to eat lettuce, sprouts and celery and be happy about it.

As with anything that is going to work, it must become part of us and the way to have that happen is to have a certain understanding of it. So, it is all well and good to have positive thinking, to have a positive mental attitude or outlook, but what I have found more helpful is to make it much more simple and easy in that I accept that I become what I think about, or that my thoughts create.

This seemingly minor change in understanding is actually quite significant because now I can accept full responsibility for what I do, have and become. It gives me control; albeit, I may choose to use that control to do things that don't serve me. It gives me hope because I realize after a time that I can change what I have, do and become by changing my thoughts. The sheer power of this is so enabling and exciting.

This also makes it so easy in comparison with the old 'think positive' philosophy. Here's a good way to get hold of it: Thich Nhat Hanh said it so well by saying, "sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." Of course, one of the easiest things in the world to do is to smile. Even when it requires effort, it doesn't take so much. By choosing to smile, we soften the hard spots and we can even create joy in the process.

We Create As We Choose To Think. A Smile Or A Frown--Either Way, It Is Of My Own Creation.

Spread Some Joy Today--Create joy in your life and in that of others today by simply smiling. What a powerful tool.