Tag: Happiness

Choosing to Observe

I read an email from Mike Dooley a few days ago. He said, “Instead of saying I am Happy or I am Sad or I am Hurt or I am Angry, pause and then say… “I choose to be Happy, Hurt, Sad, Angry, etc.” It woke me up to owning where I was going. Also, it No.Blameshowed me where I place blame. No blame is needed… I am acknowledging my choices. I was driving my car home after work this past week and I was tired after a full day of work and all that it entails. But I caught myself and said out loud “I choose to be tired.” Hmmm? What that gave me was the time to pause and think about if I am really tired or am I just saying this for another reason or out of habit? It also allowed me to ask this question: “do I really want to be tired?” So I said to myself out loud, “I choose to be happy. I have had a full day and I am hungry and will eat as soon as I get home.” Just adding “I choose” in front of whatever statement I was about to say evoked the question “do I really want that?”  It shows me the power I have to choose. If you are like me, we grew up learning to blame and not taking responsibility for our feelings. We may have heard things like, “you make me so mad” or “see what you made me do” or “don’t make me think like that.” Wow! How we gave our power and happiness away to other people!

I think that when I say or think things unconsciously out of habit, they perpetuate feelings and outcomes for which I am just used to experiencing. It is like if we always say “Mondays Suck” then that brings with it the expectation and hence, the creation or experience of a sucky Monday. The power of our word and thought is huge and this exercise to say “I choose” in front of what we are feeling brings awareness and mindfulness.

This doesn’t mean that when I am truly hurt, angry or sad I blame myself for a less Thoughts.Ropethan a wonderful experience. No! But, if I am aware that I am ultimately in charge of my life and what I believe, then when I am irritated and hurt I can navigate through it better. What I choose to think and believe next will either take me through and out of the experience stronger or it will spin me downward to be consumed by it. Every thought is a choice and it is a practice to corral them to where I want them to take me; how I want to feel and be in the situation.

I believe that how I feel is directly related to what I am thinking and those things that I am telling myself. Yes, at the end of the day I need to have sufficient sleep and if I am feeling ill, I may need to make an appointment with a doctor. There are actions that I am to take to care for myself AND… those actions include becoming aware of what I am telling myself repeatedly or what am I saying about a situation that rises before me and how I react to it. Those spontaneous reactions are also very informative to my beliefs as they are not guarded and hidden but very much Think.Positivetell tale of what is in my heart and mind when something from left field enters my day or moment.

It takes consciousness to be happy. It is an inward thing. And it takes consciousness to be aware of the stories that you nor I want to play out in our lives anymore. Consciousness is cause and thus I am in training to bring about what I desire by exercising my power of choice.

Choosing to Observe,

Sue

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Gratitude Observed

Backyard.abundanceIt is the day before my birthday and I am home. The morning air was brisk as I went outside to change out the corn cobs for the squirrels and add seed to the bird feeder. Evidence of their presence gave me heed to assure their pleasure continued. The sun is bright this morning and there is a magical feeling I get when I stand in chilly air along with the sun’s warmth. It is like sweet and salty, laughter and tears, living in the now and yet grateful for all that has comeCorn.cobs before this moment. Truly, it is a blissful thing to live in gratitude. It opens the heart to the flow… to the Universal desire to express Joy and Happiness. I did not come to this planet to live in dread nor in lack. I came to thrive and express. I came to share my gifts and to breathe in all that Life has for me. I am co-creating my life, and the experiences in it, by how I live and how I open my heart, mind and body to what is available. In doing that it all becomes one fluid expression.

In the mornings I set my intention on that which I am to be. I set my thoughts towards happiness, joy, love, beauty, abundance, Bird.feederhealth, influential vitality and wealth. I give thanks that it comes to me in all forms and avenues. I don’t worry about the “how,” yet I just open myself to the next perfect step and walk in the direction of my goals. In doing that, I allow the Universe to do Its work. I see myself as Its open channel, expressing through me perfectly and it does. I rest not my thoughts on the negative but I open my eyes to the Good that is around me and I think thoughts of love and wholeness to those people who cross my path even if we are standing in line together at the grocery store or at an event. I make conscious choices to bless and not curse. I see the Good and by doing this, more comes into view. It has to. Anything we set our mind to and focus upon creates more of those experiences. If we focus on the appearances of lack and harshness and loss and unfairness, it seems that it creates more of that in our experiences… as if that is the reality we conjure.

Some will disagree with me. Some will even argue that “this is the way life is.” And I will say yes to them. Yes… this is the way it is for you and I am sorry you are Mom's.Lemon.Treeexperiencing hard times. I know I have had my share and I have been very grateful for my friends who came near to comfort me in times of challenge, of loss and of confusion. I have felt lost and wonder and question current and past events. And then I breathe and my breath makes space around me as it is a symbol of my willingness to open my heart and mind to something more; to experience something grander than what I have experienced up until now. I am bigger than I have believed and Life is more than what I have seen and there is a magic in pausing and questioning this expanse. It truly is a playground filled with illusions and we get to choose what illusions to play.

So, on this day after Thanksgiving and the day before my birthday, I honor this Life I am living by choosing Joy and Happiness, expressions of Love and Beauty, Health, Fitness and Wealth, and Influential Abundance playing out in all I desire to do. I walk in the direction of my dreams and practice kindness and gratitude. Life is so worth living and I am here to live it.

Open at the Top,

Sue