Day 182: It Is What We Make It
How we view the world is a very important aspect of our lives. Slight shifts in our perception of what is going on can mean all the difference between success and failure, peace and anxiety. Nothing is quite as important as how we see everything that exists around us. How we see our lives can change the very way we experience life.
This is especially true during times of hardship and confusion. How we view our circumstances can guide us to inner peace or anxiety. We all have the power and the ability to change the lens over our eyes and make our reality what we want it to be. Our reality can be more vibrant and rewarding than it is now, if we just change our view of reality.
For example, take the times in our lives when we run up against a wall, like we so often do. We are heading in a straight line towards our dreams and then our of nowhere a wall slams down in front of us, directly in the middle of our path. This can lead to anger and frustration, why on earth would something have the nerve to block you from your goals?
However, if we changed our perspective a little bit, we might notice the fact that a few feet to the left, the wall ends. We could just walk around it and be on our way. Yet, we don't notice because our eyes are so trained to see the path as a straight line between a) where we are and b) where we want to be. The only way forward it through, when in reality the paths are hardly ever straight.
How we see the problems that rise in our lives often leads to more problems. A majority of our frustration would vanish if we simply stepped back and considered different angles and approaches. Walls are hardly ever solid barriers and the situation is hardly ever as dark as we think it is.
This is true most situations we experience in life, especially those that arise outside of our control, such as the circumstances we are currently facing. There isn't necessarily a line through the middle or around the wall because it is outside of our control. The wall is not our problem because we do not have enough singular power to remove it.
When something falls outside of our control, these situations often lead to feelings of confusion and low spirits. We feel overwhelmed and helpless. But the very thing that sends us into a gloomy mindset, the lack of control, could also lead us to greater peace and contentment. While the situation as a whole might be outside of our power, we must turn our attention to the things that are under our power.
Our mental landscape, our physical environment, our health, our relationships with others. These are all things we have direct control over. Worry and fear will never help in any kind of situation, instead we must keep our eyes open and look for the areas where we can plant seeds. In those places we can place our mental and physical energy in order to cultivate a flowering garden.
Any circumstance that appears as a burden and a hardship is often the best place to cultivate growth. During hard times, we have a chance to learn things about ourselves we never knew and spend time fine-tuning our outlook on life. How we perceive our reality in the maker or breaker in times of confusion. We have the choice between being filled with confusion and fear or contentment and peace.
It may be incredibly hard to look for the good in devastating situation, but no matter how dark it gets there is always something beautiful to be found. We just have to be looking for it in order to fit in. Circumstance might seem like cement walls, but they are never as dense and imposing as they seem. Change the way you see the world and the world will literally change before your eyes.
Until Next Time,
Lillian Merritt
(Reality)
Imposing and horridly strong, the wall extends from the earth and stretches endlessly in every imaginable direction. Yet, there at the center the solid shifts to liquid and the impossible becomes the possible, all because the mind is more powerful than might.