October 29th, 2018
Why do we worry when we know that worrying destroys our happiness, our joy and our peace of mind?
The answer I usually come up with is flat out denial. “I am not a worrier.” A voice in my head always says the next unspoken words. “Most days”.
The truth is that all of us at some time worry away our happiness, our joy and our peace of mind. We worry about our own mental and physical health. We worry about the well being of our loved ones. We worry about money. We worry about the world. We worry about the future. We worry about everything.
Each of us imagines that as long as we are worrying, we are working on a solution. If a problem is at the forefront of our mind obviously we are doing something about it. Right? But is that the truth? Or is worrying just our way of saying that we care but, sorry, we don’t know how to change the situation?
The more we worry, the more the dust settles on our happiness, our joy and our peace of mind until it completely covers them and now instead of reveling in those three things we seek only to distract ourselves. What can we do?
The answer is to stop being a worrier and to start becoming a Warrior, a Warrior of Love. We have made worrying more important than loving. It’s time to change. A Warrior knows that to focus on just one thing is to master that thing. Do you want to master worrying or loving?
A Warrior always asks “What can I do to improve my mental and physical health?” And then begins to implement those changes now. Love starts with loving oneself. A Warrior of Love knows that the only person he or she can change is herself or himself. To disregard that opportunity is to disregard the greatest gift.
A Warrior of Love is someone whose greatest battle is not on the field but in their own mind. He or she battles against regrets, worries and fears on a daily basis. The goals of a Warrior of Love are accepting what is, not taking personal the shortcomings or ignorance of anyone else, understanding the power of love to heal and learning to smile at it all.
Sundrops On Life -Better Thoughts. Better Days.
October 8th, 2018
Think positive they say. Look at the bright side of things they say. Don’t think negative thoughts they say.
They are totally right when you are overworked and underslept, when you are doing it all with little support or when your child throws a tantrum in the grocery aisle but what do you do when your whole world falls apart, when life throws you into a dark cave and repeatedly turns you upside down and spins you around?
The short answer is You Hold On! You grab ahold of the next minute, the next hour like a climber hanging off the side of a mountain by fingertips. You use all your strength to look into your memories to find a bit of light and you take ahold of that memory and you wrap your arms around you and you let it feed and protect you.
The long answer is that you start right now with whatever mood you are in and you start to prepare for the inevitable dark occurrences that come into each and every life. What are ten joys that you have experienced? Write them down. What are your five favorite songs? Download them. What is your favorite amulet or token? Find it and keep it close. What is your favorite book? Keep a copy at home and a copy at work or in the car. Who can you call when the light dims? Have a small group list on your phone.
Most importantly, ask for a solution. There is a part of you that guides you, that runs your bodily functions without any conscious effort on your part, that produces your creativity, hunches and intuition. It goes by many names, the soul, the spirit, the atman, the higher self, etc. You may call it what you will but most importantly you must learn to connect with it. It is the power and the wealth of your life. It is you.
My grandfather taught me to always fight the darkness, to never give up. I asked him one day “What do you do on a day when there is no darkness?” and he said ” Those are the days you work on gratitude. Nothing scares the darkness as much as gratitude.”
Sundrops On Life – Better Thoughts. Better days.
(c)2018 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
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October 5th, 2018
Imagine a big, classic mural or a huge, famous oil painting or a large, priceless tapestry. Now imagine walking right up to it until your nose was pressed against it. What would you see? A speck of dirt? A smudge? A bit of dust?
From that perspective would your judgement about the mural or painting or tapestry be right? Would it be fair? Of course not!
You have been taught to look at everything very closely. It’s called focusing and it is very good most of the time but not all of the time. Sometimes we need to see the big picture in order to give a clear and honest appraisal of something. Many times our decisions about this world are based on a microscopic view of its troubles. We do the same thing concerning our own lives. We focus intently on our missteps, our shortcomings and our fears and yet they are but a very small part of the whole picture of our existence.
Step back.Take a breath. Go for a walk. Open yourself up to a bigger perspective. See the world and your life through wide open eyes and not through a microscope. Take some time to dwell on what is right in this world and in your own life. See this incredible world for providing so much to so many. See your own life in the context of what happiness you have known and what happiness you have brought to others.
We can’t ignore the problems of this world or the problems in our own lives but sometimes we can be so focused on what is terrible that we are blind to all that is wonderful.
Take some time each day to push the problems, the angst and the travails aside and look out at the world or into your memories and see the good, the beautiful and the kind.
This world is more amazing than you can believe and your life is more blessed than you can imagine. Enjoy both!
Sundrops On Life – Better Thoughts. Better days.
(c)2018 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
Facebook – Sundrops On Life