Daily Inspiration 3-31-16

"To learn, 

we need to be willing 

to not know." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

When it comes to reaching out for advice, new knowledge, hiring a consultant, our fear of feeling stupid keeps us holding what we already have, but when we are willing to be okay with not knowing, we open the door to new possibilities.

Being ignorant is something many people are unwilling to be because that word has always smacked us with the idea of being uneducated, unsophisticated, stupid. The word has more traditionally been used as a negative to describe people that hold fast to their past methods and ways, and who are unwilling to change. But, the word can also mean that we are just missing some education about specific things that, if learnt, could change our perspectives, and perhaps our fortunes.

As a consultant, I can see the resistance that many people have to learning new ways of doing a thing, and even being willing to take the time and energy to see the value in those potential changes.

As a person, I, like so many others, am also resistant to change. I think in some ways I am eager for change, and in others, I am comfortable in my ignorance. This causes me to be fearful to reach out for new ideas from consultants myself. I guess that speaks to the old adage, what goes around, comes around.

What that resistance is, would be our ego. Our ego cannot stand to be wrong. It exudes fear within us to change because the unknown is not a place our ego likes at all. The ego likes to rule, and yet, if we allow our ego to rule, when it isn't really qualified for such a role, we miss so many opportunities to grow, change, excel.

Being aware of this resistance is key. Being aware that we are allowing our ego to rule is key. Being aware is key. In this awareness, we can be willing to listen, to learn, to try, to let go of our conformity, and to entertain exciting new possibilities and directions.

That's all it takes. We become aware of how we are feeling, what thoughts are causing those feelings, and then calmly take the time to reach out, to listen, to discover, to know.


Old Confucius Saying: Mind Like Parachute, Only Function When Open. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your love to come alive within you.

Daily Inspiration 3-30-16

"There is surely nothing quite so useless

as doing with great efficiency

what should not be done at all."

-- Peter Drucker 

[Classic post. This was the most popular post from 2012]

This is one of my favorite quotes by the management guru of the 20th century, Peter Drucker. It is also one of those quotes that I think of periodically to encourage myself to divest myself of things I don't really need to do. Yet, I persist with things, holding on far longer than makes any sense to a normal person.

I like how Jack Canfield in The Success Principles says it: "Don't just delegate, eliminate!"

This is a concept I need to work on. . .


I Am Always In Control, So It Is Always Up To Me.

Spread Some Joy Today--You may have no idea how much a simple "thank you" can mean to someone who you don't think needs to be told. They do and they do. . .

Daily Inspiration 3-29-16

"Anything that you give 

your attention to 

will become your "truth." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

Continuing the quote above, "The Law of Attraction says that it must. Your life, and everyone else's, too, is but a reflection of the predominance of your thoughts. There is no exception to this." 

They expand on this a bit here, by adding, "Sometimes you justify giving your attention to something because it is true. But, just because it is true is not a good reason, because anything that anyone gives attention to, becomes true. A better question is, "Do I want to experience it?"" 

There is not truth and everything else is something else. Truth is whatever we give our attention to, and what anyone else gives their attention to. This is how we create our own world, and this is how we rule that world. We rule it with our own thoughts. We see it via our own thoughts. It exists in our own thoughts.

We can choose our thoughts by default, as a reaction, or we can choose them purposefully, and either way is our choice, because no one chooses for us ever. If any other influences us, it is our choice to allow or disallow that.

What we are thinking at any given time will be felt in some way as emotion. Thoughts create feeling wherein we are in alignment with our Source within, or out of alignment with that Source. When in alignment, we feel good feelings in varying degrees, and when we are out of alignment with our inner Source, we feel negative emotions to varying degrees.

The more in alignment, the better we feel, the more out of alignment, the worse we feel. This is our inner guidance at its best. It is our most effective guidance if we but pay attention to how we are feeling and if we are feeling negative emotions, we can choose a thought that feels a little better, and another, until we feel good again. That is so perfect. It is the only instruction we need to have a happy and fulfilled life.

"When you are in sync with who-you-really-are, your emotions range from satisfaction to passion and enthusiasm for life. You feel clarity and certainty and interest in life. You feel fun. Your timing is good. You feel vitality. And then, what comes to you feels good to you." 


"Your Path Is More Well-Lighted Than You Have Been Allowing Yourself To Realize." -- Abraham, Esther Hicks. 

Spread Some Joy Today--because feeling good is everyone's desire because that is the desire of our Source within. Choose joy. Share joy. Be love.

Daily Inspiration 3-28-16

"Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater." 

-- Common phrase 

The quote above is a common phrase that I heard my elders use when I was a child. According to Wikipedia, the idea was first expressed in writing from a German proverb in 1512, das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten. Then it was made more popular by the writer, Thomas Carlyle in an 1849 article on slavery, where he wrote, "The Germans say, "you must empty-out the bathing-tub, but not the baby along with it." Fling-out your dirty water with all zeal, and set it careening down the kennels; but try if you can keep the little child!"

I heard other stories of where the phrase came from, but essentially it means to not discard the essential with the inessential, or as there is value in anything, glean the value that is there, that speaks to you, while allowing all the other information to pass you by. . . for now.

I just started a new audiobook that is a unique memoir of Martin Sheen and his first son, Emilio Estevez. I only just learned the Martin Sheen is a stage name he adopted, and his real name is Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez. Interesting. . .

In just the earliest part of this book, that I can tell I am going to love, as both of them are doing the audio, Emilio was talking about the movie, The Way, where he was the producer and director. Emilio said they were traveling in a van in Spain looking at shooting locations and the fog was really heavy creating a bad situation for filming. He wondered to himself how he could use this to his advantage. He thought, what could I do with this?

Under these circumstances, many might throw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak by cancelling the shoot, but he is finding the potential value in this situation and is enthusiastically curious what he can do with it. I'm not even twenty minutes into this audiobook and this inspirational gem grabs my attention.

How many times have we found ourselves in a situation that doesn't look good, doesn't feel good, is not working according to our plans? Probably a lot of times. Shit happens as they say, life gets in the way. It is very easy in these situations to give up for the day, go do something else, become frustrated, and a myriad of other reactions. All of them are essentially throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We are seeing the problems and focusing on the problems while ignoring any possibility of a silver lining, or finding value, or a gem in the rubble. It's just the way it is. Oh well.

Or, we can go with the flow and wonder what we can learn from this, what we might glean from this, how we might take advantage of this situation.


Turning A Negative Into A Positive Means Not Allowing Reaction To Rule. Let Your Curiosity Rule Instead. What Could I Do With This? 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing yourself the opportunity to see the joy that is within all things.

Daily Inspiration 3-27-16

"To belittle, you have to be little." 

-- Kahlil Gibran 

Here's To Being The Best That Is In Us And Helping Those Who Desire To Come Along. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Think LOVE.

Daily Inspiration 3-26-16

"Never compare your insides 

to someone else's outsides." 

-- Rob Lowe 

Rob Lowe wasn't even on my radar. I knew he was an actor, and I've seen some movies that he was in. I knew he starred in the TV series, The West Wing, which I loved at the time, but had no idea of the depth and breadth of his theater, movie, television career, let alone producing, and much more. Isn't it interesting how many people we know superficially.

I forgot to mention that he is also a writer. I stumbled--I love how that sounds when I am led to something that the Universe knows I will love--on to Rob's memoir audiobook, Stories I Only Tell My Friends from 2011, and then realized he did another in 2014, Love Life. I haven't enough superlatives to express how much enjoyment I got out of both of these wonderful books. An outstanding writer, and with him reading them on the unabridged audio, they come to life in only the way they could with his participation. I didn't want either to end, and I hope he writes more memoirs. 

What I loved most was that these were in depth recollections, but not necessarily a timeline autobiography. Certainly he is telling his life story, but it is more his life stories. And they are absolutely fascinating.

In memoir number two, Love Life, the quote above was gleaned. It's one of those things where you can read an entire book and one sentence leaps off the page and forces you to write it down. I've never heard that sentiment expressed in that way, but it is spot on.

How many times are we feeling emotions within, whether being nervous, scared, unsure, and we are looking at others thinking they might be seeing our fear and pain, and we seeing that they seem to be happy, fun, enjoying life, confident, determined. The distance between what we are feeling and what we are seeing is huge. And, more important, we feel alone in that. We feel vulnerable, exposed, wanting to hide, to run away, disappear.

But that is only because we are looking at what is going on inside us while we are looking at what is going on on the outside of others. Not a fair comparison in the slightest. The truth is probably that every single one of those we see in our field of vision or imaginary vision, has felt exactly as we are feeling right this moment.


We Are All More The Same On The Inside Than We Are On The Outside. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing ourselves to feel what we are feeling without adding unnecessary weight to it, which allows us to move past it more quickly toward better feelings.

Daily Inspiration 3-25-16

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact.

Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."

-- Marcus Aurelius

[Classic Post. This is a repost of the most popular post of 2011]

I was listening to someone's opinion of what I was doing, and I have learned in the last few years to accept that for what it is--an opinion. It made me think of people standing in a circle and as they stand there focusing on what is in front of them, it is abundantly clear that each and every one of them has a unique and different perspective. Each would then have their own truth about what they see and their interpretation of it, whereas, someone on a different position would not agree with their opinion.

I think it is slightly important (just barely. . .) to consider what others viewpoints may be, if for no other reason than being aware that there would certainly have to be differences of opinion, different views of the same object or event, and so on to acknowledge there are other perspectives and interpretations.

In the final analysis, there is only one opinion that really matters and that is our own. Each of us is similar to the captain of a ship. A large ship may have a crew and even several officers that give advice and information, but when it comes down to it, the captain carries the full responsibility for the decisions. Consider a ship where the captain is not fond of making decisions, has to consult with this person and that, being unsure of what to do and always looking for another perspective to consider. That ship would have the most difficult time just getting away from the dock, let alone out of the harbor.

Each of us is the captain in charge of our own voyage. Listening to others viewpoints and opinions can be helpful, but in due time, if we are to move ahead, we need to rely on and trust in our own opinion.

Bon Voyage!

Spread Some Joy Today--Decision making is always the most sought-after quality, and the most highly paid too. Got decisions?

Daily Inspiration 3-24-16

"What you resist persists." 

-- Carl Jung 

I wrote the book, Commercial Truck Success, from my experience in starting two commercial truck departments within retail auto dealerships and through trial and error, created very profitable and successful operations. In the book, some of the simplest concepts are to make sure your inventory is salable this moment, by keeping them clean and making sure they start and run well. Very basic stuff.

Yet, it is amazing every single time I see the oldest truck on the lot won't even start and they are so desperate to sell the two year old piece that they are trying to sell it below cost. What would happen if a buyer actually came in and was interested? The salesperson would try to start it, then go get the jumper battery, and the jumper battery is too low to give enough juice to the truck battery to get it to crank. The salesperson is running around and the buyer is thinking, "no wonder they've had it so long!" Then he or she remembers an appointment they are late for.

Here was a perfect opportunity to sell the unit and even sell it at a profit, but the whole thing was blown because the dealership resisted fixing the truck. How much do new batteries, if needed, cost in comparison to a month's worth of flooring on a $50,000 truck? Or how about six more months of flooring expense waiting for the next buyer? Sometimes we just can't see the forest for the trees. It is often the simple things, the easy to fix things that hold us back.

This doesn't just apply to a commercial truck department, or even a retail auto dealership, or a hair salon, or restaurant, or an appliance store, or any other business, it applies to all of life. Personal life, business life, government life, all of life.

We have a leaky faucet in the bathroom and it has been that way for a long time, but now the drought has worsened and surcharges apply for excessive use of water. How did this bill get so high? Well, that would have paid for a brand new faucet, and another month or two and we could have paid a plumber to handle it. Just little things like doing the dishes (I have resistance there, but I am working on it) and keeping the kitchen clean. There are so many little things that are important and yet also easy to see as not important. Until they are REALLY important. Then panic sets in.

I created relationships with other commercial truck dealers to trade old inventory with. It's amazing that when you have an old piece, even if in tip-top shape, the salespeople walk right past it as it if isn't really there. So, I would trade two or three of my 90+ day old units for the other dealers 90+ day old units site unseen. When they come here they are new, when mine go there, they are new. I cannot tell you how many times those units sold so fast it amazed me. So there are many creative ways to cause movement.

Consider making a list of some of the things at work, and at home that you might have been glossing over that could be important, and under certain circumstances could be REALLY important. For example, an effective savings plan. Too much month at the end of the money? How many years did I live like that! But, that simply means that the outgo is exceeding the income. There are ways to solve that on both ends of the scale. Simple things that are put off for another day, that are important and yet allowed to slide.


I'm Working On My List And Making Progress. Feels Great Too. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by clearing out those cobwebs, and allowing your priorities to include important and yet often ignored things like joy to come into the open and thrive.

Daily Inspiration 3-23-16

"Scatter joy!" 

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

I was reading another quote by Ralph Emerson, where he said, "I pack my trunk, embrace my friends, embark on the sea and at last wake up in Naples, and there beside me is the stern fact, the sad self, unrelenting, identical, that I fled from."

Sometimes we just need to get away, but a great question is from what? Rather than running from something, it is far more beneficial to desire to run toward something because it is what we want. We might often think that we can change our location and scenery and have the refreshment we desire, to renew ourselves, and for a time, that certainly may be the case, yet everywhere we go, there we are, as we take ourselves with us, and all of the baggage of that too.

This reminded me--strange as it seems--about what I learned early in sales called the Ben Franklin Close. When a prospect is on the edge having a hard time deciding and contemplating leaving, the salesperson suggests, "You know, Ben Franklin was one of our history's wisest men. When he found himself in the situation that you are in right now, he would take out a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle, and on one side he would write "Pro" and on the other, "Con," and he would list all the reasons why he would do it on the pro side and all the reasons not to on the other, then he would see very clearly which decision to make. How about we try that right now?"

Then, the salesperson would suggest they begin with the pro side, and he or she would be very, very helpful in adding things to that list. When they exhausted the pro's, the prospect would move to the con's and the salesperson would shut up completely. No suggestions at all. That's the Ben Franklin Close in a nutshell.

Sometimes in our lives, we use this pro and con game on ourselves, except we often begin with the con's. Then, instead of the salesperson helping out or shutting up, our ego pipes in and helps us make a long list on the con side. With the help of our ego, we may find so many con's that we are exhausted, discouraged, and disempowered to the point that we don't even bother with the pro's. What's the use?, we say. It ain't gonna change anything. It's just the way it is. I can't do anything about it.

Here's where that strange word phrase of "being enlightened," comes to play. Being enlightened only means that we have become aware of the functions within our mind and how it affects our life. Being enlightened means that we can say, "I see you Mr. Ego, chiming in all the time, trying to protect me, but not letting me have any fun either. I appreciate your good qualities, but you always try to take control. Wrong! I am in control. You are a friend and servant, but I am always in control. I appreciate your input, but I will be making this decision."

Being enlightened is sort of like being outside of yourself and seeing how it all works. It allows me to align with the better part of me, my inner being, the God within, or whatever phrase works for you. You know what I'm talking about because you've felt that too. So, I ask, am I in alignment or out of alignment? But, I don't even have to ask because how I am feeling is my guidance control. If I am feeling good, I am close to or in alignment. The better I feel, the more in alignment I am. If I feel bad, or off, I am out of alignment with my true self. Now the decision I need to make is easy. My pro side has loads of help as if it is the most benevolent of salespeople within.


Running Away Or Eagerly Running Toward? The Pro's Have It! 

Spread Some Joy Today--Oh, I so love how Ralph said it: Scatter joy! Yes!

Daily Inspiration 3-22-16

"If we take the time, 

no matter how crazy and troubled we feel, 

we can find something to be thankful for." 

-- Terry Lynn Taylor 

How much time? A few seconds maybe. Or perhaps a minute or two. Or a half hour. And does it really matter how long it takes? We don't have to worry that our troubles and craziness won't be there when we get back. Or do we? If we were inclined to worry about something, I think that worrying whether or not our troubles will be there when we return if we left them for a while is worth worrying about. So, maybe we should just stay where we are. Troubles and crazy are comforting by now. It feels like home. It's normal. There's plenty to complain about. We like complaining. There's plenty to be upset about because the world is getting worse every day. We enjoy our comfortable upsetting view of the world. It's normal. It's real. It's the way it is.

Not!

It is a choice.

Question: Do you like joy? Do you like the way that feels? Do you enjoy passion? Do you like the way that feels? Do you like enthusiasm? Do you like the way that feels? How about empowerment, eagerness, appreciation? Do you like the way they feel? Of course, you do. But sometimes you think they are reserved for the few who deserve it. Not. You deserve it as much as anyone on the planet. And, whether you are the biggest billionaire on the planet or the lowliest tramp on the street, in each and every case, without exception, feeling these things is a choice of what we choose to think.

Yup. It is purely a thought. That is all it is, and that is enough. Troubles is just a thought. Crazy is just a thought. Depression is just a thought. Worry is just a thought. And so, love is just a thought, as well, joy, enthusiasm, empowerment, passion, eagerness, and appreciation are just a thought.

Time? You can take the time to think whatever you like because you are and you will continue to. Take the time to worry, mull over your troubles, spy on your failures, complain about where you are and why you're not on the greener side of the fence, express your anger at this and that and that and this. Express your concerns about the world, the government, the neighbors, the church, the school, the mayor, the in-laws. They all take time. It seems that in a few cases, a lot of time.

Whatever time there is is being spent in whatever way we choose to spend it. How we feel is a direct reflection of whether we are in alignment with our inner being, so realizing how we feel is important as important gets. It is our guiding light so to speak. Like feeling shitty? No problem. Like feeling joy? No problem. They are equal in one thing: each is a choice of thought and each choice of thought creates a corresponding emotional response.

Now back to the quote at the beginning. Finding something to be thankful for--anything at all--will open the tiniest hole in the wall to allow more light in, and then more light, and more light, until, the room is full of light and the shadows and darkness are no longer visible. They have left the building.


Make The Choice That Lights Your Fire. Oh. . . You Already Are! How Does That Feel? 

Spread Some Joy Today--because joy is not only worth spreading, it is worth rolling around in, splashing, doing cannonballs into, sliding down the slippery slope with, rocketing to space with, and enjoying private moments by the fire on a cold night with.

Daily Inspiration 3-21-16

"An eye is meant to see things. 

The soul is here for its own joy." 

-- Rumi 

Progress is not always obvious. You know how you see a child and then don't see them again until a year later, or maybe two? That progress is entirely obvious. But, when we're living in ourselves, changes often seem more subtle, until one day, something strikes you and you are amazed at the change within that you weren't noticing before. That happened to me again yesterday.

A light rain came for part of the day, and as it began, the sound was so refreshing and I got up from my desk and went out under the carport and watched the rain falling into the birdbath, and dancing on the glistening leaves. I was in awe of it. I was totally present and I felt so at peace and so loved and so good. I stood there for quite some time and was absorbing as much of it as I could without thinking. 

Normally, I'm thinking very quickly about things. Even though I am noticing the feeling of the rain, and enjoying it, and appreciating it, I would be thinking too. This time, I didn't start thinking until I stopped being present in the rain. The difference was huge. It was then that I realized that I had grown like the child being away for a couple of years.

As I thought about that, I noticed too that I am laughing a lot. In fact, I'm laughing so many times throughout the day simply enjoying funny things, parts of movies, something on Facebook or YouTube, or in the newspaper. My appreciation for things around me has grown as well. I guess I might describe it as joy. Many times as I'm thinking about something I find that I have a huge smile on my face, but it is as though I am smiling from the inside out, sort of like my whole body is smiling. It's an interesting feeling--fascinating, really.

I remember Abraham, Esther Hicks saying that the levels of joy are endless. The happier I get, the happier I get. I'm amazed by it. I'm enjoying it. Even as I do my best to share that, I can only hope that it comes across the way it feels.

So here's hope for everyone. The more you find to be happy about, the more you find to laugh about, enjoy, appreciate, be in awe over, be amazed at, the more of that is attracted to you. I'm living proof.


Allow Your Enjoyment To Find More Expression. Be Amazed. 

Spread Some Joy Today--because after a while, you just can't help yourself.

Daily Inspiration 3-20-16

"It's always been a dream of mine 

to have done a TED talk 

in the past." 

-- Tim Urban 

Today's post will be an easy one, in that I don't have to write very much. I know some of you might enjoy that. I've also expressed many times how much I enjoy the TED organization and have watched many hundreds of TED Talks. Some have been so powerful that I have shared one here every once in a while.

This one is on procrastination. Some of you think that you are not procrastinators, but I believe that it is part of who we are for many reasons. Nonetheless, this 14 minute talk is so funny and powerful at the same time. I laughed all the way through it every time I watched it, and when I get to the end. . . well, that made it all worthwhile. So, I share this talk with you today. I hope it touches you even a tenth as much as it touched me.

See more from Tim Urban on his blog here: http://waitbutwhy.com

It's A Hit! Doing, Doing, Doing, Done! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by sharing your joys with others.

Daily Inspiration 3-19-16

"He is so above me 

in his bright radiance 

and collateral light."

-- William Shakespeare 

All's Well That Ends Well, Act 1, Scene 1 

Yesterday I mentioned that I was thinking about William Shakespeare and words. It is said that he coined about 1,700 words and word combinations that we use today. Probably we don't use them often. One of them in the quote above is the word radiance. Some others, to name but a few, are: amazement, cold-blooded, lackluster, majestic, madcap, zany, tranquil, puppy dog, Olympian, quarrelsome, eventful, moonbeam, hostile, laughable, jaded.

This all came back to my mind, along with Tony Robbin's great book, Awaken the Giant Within, where my favorite chapter is The Vocabulary of Ultimate Success, because I love the word delightful, and I was thinking that I use it too often. I think many of us have our favorite words and as a result have a tendency to use them more often.

Many of the words that I used in the past were more negative, or at least with bland emotional power. It was Tony Robbins in his book that led me on a new path of expressive vocabulary. He has some charts in the book to help encourage a different choice of words or phrases from disempowered to empowered, many of them intended to change our state as he calls it, or to change our vibration and thereby our point of attraction as Abraham might express it. Some are just plain fun, and have a tendency to make me laugh when I say it. Here's some examples from Awaken the Giant Within:

Go from I'm feeling hurt to I'm feeling dinged, from feeling fear to feeling wonderment, from I'm feeling pissed off to I'm feeling a little tinkled, from feeling exhausted to just a little droopy, from feeling overwhelmed to in demand, from feeling terrible to kind of different, from sick to it feels like a cleansing, from I'm stressed to I'm feeling energized. I think you'll agree that using the new words really does change the whole feeling.

Words have a lot of power in our lives. 

So, back to delightful. I used to use a Thesaurus more in earlier times. Now, I'm getting to know it all over again to help me search for more words that help me expand my delight into new forms of expression. And, thanks to Thesaurus.com, I am delighted to share these new delights: alluring, engaging, refreshing, darling, heavenly, luscious, rapturous, ravishing, yummy, lush, scrumptious, cheery, thrilling, ambrosial, lovely, fascinating (another of my favorite words), ravishing.

I can turn my delight into relish (another favorite word), ecstasy, mirth, joyance (oh, that's a good one!), enchantment, transport, glee, and joy. Or, how about extravagant, flamboyant, flashy, outrageous, fancy, and fantastic. Then there is exquisite, opulent, appetizing, juicy, succulent, sumptuous, mouth-watering, divine, adorable, delish, and savory.

The more we focus on these kind of words, the more of the situations, and views of all that is around us come to match them. Certainly, we can use many of these wonderful words to describe it after we've seen it, but I think you'll find that by simply making a list of words like this will conjure up images. I think this effort is one of life's little joys that increases the joy in that little life, to make it seem so much more distinctive and recklessly captivating. 


May Your Day Be Truly Engaging! 

Spread Some Joy Today--because a little cheeriness goes a long way.

Daily Inspiration 3-18-16

"If you prick us do we not bleed? 

If you tickle us do we not laugh? 

If you poison us do we not die? 

And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?" 

-- William Shakespeare 

This morning, I was thinking about Shakespeare and words. It is said that he coined a lot of words that are in common use today. But, I'll leave that subject for tomorrow.

As I was looking at the quote above, I became fascinated by the incongruity of the last line, yet it does hold the sentiment that is so universal. The first three questions relate to autonomous bodily reactions to physical stimuli. The last is entirely an egotistical and angry response to an idea, a thing that is not physical at all, nor is it really caused by another, but within ourselves, of our own design. 

Wars are made easy by this. Families and friends are ripped apart by this. Hatred is spread as if it now has a cause to grow by, to expand into. There is such words as honor to defend, place to be demonstrated, emotions to be aroused. And yet, it is all in our minds. There is no harm done by another. No physical touch or entry into our protected space. No, it is strictly and completely our own thoughts fueled by our own ego into a physical reaction called revenge.

We have the choice. We always have the choice of what we will think about anything. Will we allow--and allow is the perfect word here--will we allow our thoughts to become anger, revenge? Or will we choose a different thought, and thereby a different response. Or, perhaps, no response at all, as if the cause for alarm did not ever exist.

When I finally learned that no one outside of myself can cause me to feel anything without my permission and participation, I realized that all the power is within me. I have the power to think what I will. I have the power to respond or not. I have control in this when I allow myself to have control. I am not my ego. My ego is a tool. I no longer want my ego making this kind of decision for me. As the chanting for the response grows, I can choose to turn and go a different direction, or to even ignore.

I am aware of the context of this quote from The Merchant of Venice, Act 3, and yet, what may be considered normal in response, is not normal, but common, and it is common only in those who allow their ego to rule over their mind. We could then say, they are out of their minds.


Remember. You Get To Choose What You Will Think And How You Will Respond. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Can someone take away your joy? Only if you allow it.