Thinking about what you have always done, ask yourself, “How can I improve my achievements? Is it possible to reach a higher goal? Will I be able to progress on the spiritual path? Is the real world just the one I see?” These are the wonderings of an individual who dares to look up and say, “Is there anything beyond the walls of my usual, conformist behavior, something that may be totally different from what I have always known, seen, believed?”
By now, you should have realized that the vision you have of an object is according to where you are standing. Therefore you can perceive it either longer, shorter, flatter or thicker than it actually is. It all depends on the location from where you are looking at it. This is a topic I have already tackled and I will keep on tackling because it is “the core” of what we are trying to achieve here, i.e. to think more creatively. So, please, bear with me and enjoy another self-explaining, totally true little story. A man went to the movies and found that all the good seats in the theater were occupied. The only empty chair was located at the far end of one front row. He sat down, looking forward to enjoying the film, but great was his disappointment when he realized that — being in such a sideways position, the figures on the screen appeared all deformed. Useless to say that he did not have any fun and got even more upset seeing that the other spectators, who had a better view, were having a good time.
A similar criterion can be applied to your vision of life. i.e. to your circumstances, to your moods, to what happens to you, to other people’s behavior… to just anything. If you put yourself in front of a certain situation with a critical attitude, you will find lots of things to criticize. If you decide to take on the victim role, plenty of occasions will materialize for you to feel exploited, taken advantage of and … to complain! If you believe that the whole mankind is against you (actually, it’s just the people you are dealing with daily, but it seems that it’s absolutely “everybody”!), you will then assume an aggressive attitude because — you say — you have to defend and/or protect yourself. Good excuse!
On the other hand, if you realize that the best way to face any challenge is the positive one, your reaction will surely smooth the sharp corners of any situation and will make you able to enjoy whatever is good in it. This does not mean that the unpleasant happenings do not exist or that difficulties disappear. But your perspective can definitely help you minimize them, while highlighting what you like and what is beneficial to you.
It is well known that human beings prefer to focus their attention on the 10 percent of negativity existing in their lives, almost ignoring the remaining positive 90%. What a pity! It is up to you to perceive a rose as a weed or to see a frog as a beautiful (okay, just cute!) element of creation. You are the only maker of the vision you choose to have of the world. What is around you is only a mirror of yourself, which reflects what you think and how you feel. This might sound like “old stuff” and … it is, indeed. You heard it, you know it, you even believe it. But, how often do you actually admit that the world is a “mirror” of yourself which displays in the open what “you” are, how “you” are behaving right now? Nevertheless, it is true. You feel happy … and the world sends back a friendly grin to you (people are nice, things are easier, you feel lighter). You feel depressed … and gloomy skies darken your sight (people are rude, “all” situations look unpleasant, you feel burdened with the weight of the world).
In conclusion, it is essential that you try to show the mirror a preferably positive image of yourself. How? By being more open, flexible, understanding, kind, generous, less judgmental, more lenient. If you learn how to do it, you shall be greatly rewarded, because the reflection you then get will be a beautiful one. As a consequence the whole world — when you smile — will smile back at you.
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