Originally posted on Facebook HERE
What a great day. Do you ever wonder to yourself “how did I get here?”… or “how did this become my life? Why are these the people I spend time with? Why do I do this for a living?”… I think we all have moments of reflection like that. Where we are today is basically the sum of every decision we’ve made up to this point in our lives. We make decisions every day all day long, and they have long term effects whether we know it or not. Physically, you can see the effects of what we eat, how much we eat, when we eat, and/or how active we are, whether we work out, etc… because over time a poor diet and lack of activity will be reflected in how we look, as will nourishing foods with good activity levels. But we also make decisions every day on who we think we are, what we think we’re capable of, how we’re going to treat others and/or how we’ll let other people treat us as well. And over time we develop our sense of self based mostly on our past history. Sometimes, we’ll sit back and watch ourself argue over our own self-worth. “I couldn’t possibly ask that person out – or apply for that job – or take that class”… because of our own self-inflicted insecurities about who we are. And when we see ourselves arguing with ourselves – well… how many people are in there? There’s the two people arguing – right? Talker & listener – and – the watcher. The part of us that watches the argument unfold. We all carry this trifecta within us. The unconscious mind, the conscious mind and the soul. The conscious mind rules our thoughts, it’s the voice we can’t shut off that narrates our days. Our unconscious mind is basically the bridge between the conscious mind and our soul. In many ways our thoughts are determined by the beliefs we have stored within our unconscious minds. So, when we really want to start our own business, or take up piano, or write a book… we bring the idea to the forefront of our thoughts where often it will meet with significant resistance from our conscious minds, who will give us every reason why it’s a stupid idea and will not succeed. And in the meantime, watching this all unfold… behind it all… is our soul. Who we really are. We are not our bodies. We are not our names. We are not our jobs. We are not anything we currently think we are insomuch as on the day we decide we’re something else we can be something else. We are not our thoughts. The essence of what we are runs so much deeper than that. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. And we so often forget that, and get caught up in mundane things that are frustrating and irritating and – what good does it do? We have very few moments to live. We decide how to live them. Those decisions made over time will determine how you feel about yourself. The life you’ve been given – which totally isn’t fair at all, everyone gets different circumstances to deal with at birth – can be seen with a grateful heart or a spiteful one. I try to always choose gratitude. Grateful to be sober. Grateful for my wife and family. Grateful to live where I do. Grateful to have a job that I love that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Grateful to be gifted with musical talent. And within all of that there is still that spiteful voice in the background that always seems to want to look elsewhere, and compare what I have with others and think about how much better everyone else is doing than I am… I decided a long time ago to make decisions that set myself up for the best life I can possibly live in every area I can. And to take time as often as possible to touch base with my soul with daily meditation and prayer. We lead our lives fulfilled and grateful when our decisions are made from there. Get to know that part of yourself and make sure your decisions set you up to live your best life today and always…
