lifestyle
Life Lessons: Be Still and Vow to See Everything in a Positive Light
my world • Leaving a Legacy • lifestyle • hobbies-me time
Life Lessons—I have a confession. I sometimes wake up at 2:00 a.m. with a jolt, thinking about the things I didn't do right. "I haven't read to the kids this summer." popped up into my groggy brain at 2:00 a.m. this morning.
Invariably, the next toxic thought bomb followed. "Oh no, they'll be behind. They're going to be technology drones who sit on the couch mesmerized by video games, iPads, iPods, iPhones, I everything." I laid in bed, making a mental list of the books I'll organize into a summer reading bucket and how we will take it everywhere.
Vowing to See Everything in a Positive Light
Writing about it now, the whole thing seems ridiculous, considering that teaching others how to eliminate toxic thoughts is a ginormous part of my life. You can't live up to your full potential unless you discard toxins from your mind, heart, and soul. You can't be who you were created to be with all your wonderful gifts and talents, if you allow stinking thinking to creep in. Take every thought captive. What comes into your mind, becomes rooted in your heart.
Yet still, those pesky negative thoughts sneak in when we least expect it... And like a bad dream, their residue can be an undercurrent in your day. Do you ever dwell on the things you haven't done right, instead of the things you have? The what-ifs seem to hit me only in the middle of the night.
Here's a recent 2:00 a.m. talk cycle. I didn't see them brush their teeth, What if they have 5 cavities? What if the college fund doesn't cover things? (he's only 6) what if the new puppy has heart worms and kids get them too? What if what if what if!!!
Learning From Puppies and Kids
This is the new puppy, Batman. He's asleep through all of this nonsense, in the bed with my two young sons. And that's exactly the point. He's a homeless dog that a homeless guy who lives under a bridge gave to me. Yet he seems to be sleeping just fine.
We can learn a lot from puppies and kids. Children don't seem to worry about much. Dogs never worry about where their next meal is coming from. Even my homeless friend manages to find a roof to cover his head from the rain. But the what ifs of a highly scheduled, controlled life can kill you. Sometimes you just have to be still. Do something simple. Wipe the slate of the day clean. Examine your motives for going here or there and signing the kids up for activities.
Let the kids bake a cake. Be still. Kill those joy destroying thoughts the minute they come in. Today, vow to see everything in a positive light. Focus only on what you do have. Because you've done enough. Isn't it possible that life, (and you) are perfect just the way you are?
How will you look at things in a positive light today? What steps will you take to rid your mind of joy destroying thoughts?
Top photo courtesy of Flickr.
Tammy Kling is a life coach, advocate for the homeless, and international author of 29 books including The Compass. Tammy is also the founderr of Write it Out, an organization that helps gang members, the homeless, and those living on the street write out their hopes & dreams via writers workshops, free journals and various other resources.
In addition to writing and coaching, Tammy is a mom of two boys, an avid trail and mountain runner, blogger, and adventure travel writer.
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