Frequently we feel that our happiness is dependent on good or bad luck for which we bear little responsibility.
We forget to instruct our minds to change our perceptions of the world and everything in it. We forget that peace of mind is an internal matter.
The temptation to react with anger, depression or excitement exists because of interpretations we make of the external stimuli in our environment. Such interpretations are necessarily based on incomplete perception.
When we dwell on past events or anticipate future happenings, we are living in the realm of fantasy. Whatever is real in our lives can only be experienced NOW.
We block the possibility of fresh and novel experience in our lives when we attempt to relive in the present our memories of episodes from the past, whether painful or pleasurable.
We are, therefore, in a continual state of conflict about the actual happenings of the present and are unable to directly experience the opportunities for happiness which are all about us.
From time to time I see a fragmented world where nothing seems to make much sense.
The bits and pieces of my daily life reflect the chaos I see within.
In my mind are thoughts that can hurt me or help me. I am constantly choosing the contents of my mind, since no one else can make this choice for me.
TODAY, I welcome a new perception of myself and the world.
When I am with Joseph each week, I have the privilege of viewing the world through his 3 year old eyes.....
Postscript:
Nina, a very wise and thought provoking blogger who spreads so much sunshine and happiness around the blogosphere wrote this very insightful comment I want to share.
"To look at life through the eyes of a 3 year old follows your post well. Everything is new and exciting. Colors, shapes, sounds, the world is a playground filled with the Joyful Happiness of new and exciting "things".
To choose to look at life through the proverbial rose colored glasses is not necessarily a bad thing. As a matter of fact, focusing on what's good and pleasing around us brings internal joy and happiness. We fully Love life with its rollercoaster ride if we view it as a wonderful ride of learning.
The sun rises. The reality is the earth chases around the sun playing hide and seek every day. The perception is a new beginning, a new start, a new opportunity each and every day... Kind of brings meaning to "sunshine and happiness"... (say isn't that in a song?) I hadn't read your post until today but kindred spirits we are my friend. Love and Light, Nina P".
37 comments:
I love those pictures. and I like that you appreciate being with him (that's very cool). Good for you =D
Yes. We have the power. heh
I love all those 'empowering' thoughts/ideas (dare I say it - truths). I can decide to accept what comes my way (gosh my therapist was just talking to me about radical acceptance. oi) and be happy.
I would expound on this, but I'm much too lazy.
;)
The world of a three year old is mostly consists of living in the here and now moment.. precious lesson there. We miss out the laughter and scents from the garden of life when we are too busy making a better tomorrow sometimes.
~Silver
HO - Yes they can be very empowering thoughts if they can get through our chaotic brain and come to the surface.
Thanks for always popping by and sharing your thoughts. :-)
Silver - Very, very wise word dear friend. Joseph sure does live in moment. I so enjoy singing and laughing all day with him. And my singing voice seems to be improving as well!!
thanks for the empowering thoughts. I love 3 year olds, sooo cute.
Christine - Well I figure I better spit them out when they surface, so I will be able to reread them when my fragmented world rares its ugly face. :-P
Oh, what a sweet angel Joseph is :D It makes life so sweet to be able to pause and view life through a child's eyes...they see the world in the moment, don't they.
You say, "Peace of mind is an internal matter." So true! We choose how we wish to live and walk through this life.
"Whatever is real in our lives can only be experienced NOW." I love that, Peggy! Thank you for reminding me! And yes, we are thinking alike...kindered spirits and like minds :)
Love and Hugs and Wishes for a Super Happy Weekend!
xox
Kelly
PS: I'm loving the music :D
Good Friday evening to you, dear Peg.
Perception is EVERYTHING.
We choose in every moment how we think, feel, believe and act.
It is how we color on ouwn worlds that make them appear as they do.
And that is why lifting and clearing the illusions of stress and drama and victim bring such radiance and contentment and gratitude with them...
((hugs)) and have a great weekend !
P.S. Joseph is adorable :)
What a wonderful post, Peggy - thank you for making me think (it doesn't happen very often!)
haha when your blog loaded and the cocky jumped out at me I found myself biting my lip talking back to the cockatoo in bird speak!
Kelly - I love that we are kindred spirits across the ocean!
Every so often I have shining moments, a sense of peace, that I am flooded with. Just for a moment or two. It usually happens while I am taking a stroll by myself. Like a sunbeam cutting through the clouds, it was there – extremely bright – and then gone.
There is warmth and love in this peace, clarity and intelligence. It was something wonderful.
Have a super happy weekend too. :-)
Annie - We are certainly on the same page.
When our intuition develops to its potential and our perception is emotionally unclouded, amazing things happen.
Perception may not be everything but it sure is convincing. The problem is, when we believe something to be true, we tend to sort through information in our environment and focus on evidence that supports the frame of reference we have chosen in our perception.
As we shift the way we look at things, we are able to take in more objective information and reframe more empowering and useful perspectives on a situation.
I am certainly planning to have a great weekend. Tomorrow a friend and I are going on a 4 hour nature walk about an hours drive north of Sydney.....ahh to be a one with nature!
Hugs back to you too. :-)
Mike - You always make me smile with your quirky comments. Thanks for always dropping by and partaking in the conversation. :-D
Macs - Hello stranger. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall and hear you talking bird speak!
:-P
We do choose to act, or react, based on perceptions. If we could enter each day with a clean slate of mind, wouldn't that be a great thing? But then again, we learn something new each and every day, about ourselves and others.... I think we need to carry that with us as well.... Maybe, we can recycle what's in our minds each night and only keep and reuse what is helpful and get rid of the rest!
Joseph is a cutie-pie here. It's fascinating to see the world through their eyes, isn't it.... And that bird.... gorgeous!
Hugs,
Roban
hey you have supertramp on your playlist! I met Roger from supertramp when I was 16 and had no idea who they were. Now I am older and wiser
Anyway, Perception is key, and I try to walk through life with no preconceived notions...
Roban - You are a wise soul. I love your take on perception. I am sure it is possible to recycle what is in our mind each night and only keep the helpful stuff. When you find out how to do it please let me know as I am still in kindergarten when it comes to removing the chaos that swirls around in my head.
I love how Joseph is teaching me how to live in the moment...bless that child!!
Hope you are having a relaxing weekend.
Hugs to you too. :-)
Shannon - You betcha I have Supertramp on my playlist. They were one of my favourite bands in the 1970's. I have heaps of their albums. I love the lyrics of "The Logical Song".
"At night, when all the worlds asleep,
The questions run so deep
For such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am".
Back then I had no idea who I was. I lived in a fragmented world.
Today my world in less fragmented, slowly the jigsaw puzzle with its interlocking pieces are joining together. :-)
Peggy - that song has been on the radio a lot lately (and I don't think I had ever heard it before this year). Not sure if C had heard it before this year, either - but he is just nuts about it (he loves all the rhymes) and how clever/well it all fits together ('they came up with all these clever rhymes and they actually fit the song/message!')
;)
HO - I love the rhyming lyrics too.
"Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical,
Liberal, fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
Acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegtable".
But I love the message also about the strain society puts upon us to fit seamlessly into the machinery. The destruction of individuality, of free thought.
About people being brainwashed into thinking success equals a big house and a fancy car and the pressure to erase our personal dreams for the replacement dreams society brainwashes into our brains, in school, but also in advertisements, newspapers, where we can read who we should be, what we should wear, how to be 'cool', and what our opinions should be.
It is essentially about society trying to erase personality and free independent thought in childhood.
Well that's what I think anyway.
:-P
As one 'square peg' to another, I say 'Whatever gets you through the night - it's all right'. (You know, the John Lennon song?)
But you are right - we have choices. Personally I try to control what I dwell on. I can't always control my thoughts, but I can decide on what I spend time thinking about. Sadness is necessary - we all get sad sometimes. But we don't have to dwell on sad things. We can focus on the good things in our lives.
You are lucky to have Joseph - 3yr olds sure know how to play! I used to love being taken into my nephew's world - and it was easy!
Seeing the world through a child's eyes also helps me to live in the moment. It's powerful and extremely rewarding. Not easy though when you also have to work our what's for dinner tonight, tomorrow and the next day...
Great Post Peggy.
Stoneweaver - Yes of course I know the John Lennon song! Here are some more lyrics...
"Whatever gets you to the light 'salright, 'salright
Out the blue or out of sight 'salright, 'salright".
In reply to your "sadness is necessary" I found this lovely quote:
"Sorrow is like a precious treasure, shown only to friends". African Proverb
Chapter Forty - Deciding what to cook each day must be a pain in the proverbial!
Joseph & I mostly have peanut butter sandwiches and fruit and water....and a few lollies and chocolates to keep our strength up!!
I am enjoying visiting your son's blog. He has a great imagination and his art is excellent. :-D
To look at life through the eyes of a 3 year old follows your post well. Everything is new and exciting. Colors, shapes, sounds, the world is a playground filled with the Joyful Happiness of new and exciting "things". To choose to look at life through the proverbial rose colored glasses is not necessarily a bad thing. As a matter of fact, focusing on what's good and pleasing around us brings internal joy and happiness. We fully Love life with its rollercoaster ride if we view it as a wonderful ride of learning.
The sun rises. The reality is the earth chases around the sun playing hide and seek every day. The perception is a new beginning, a new start, a new opportunity each and every day... Kind of brings meaning to "sunshine and happiness"... (say isn't that in a song?) I hadn't read your post until today but kindred spirits we are my friend. Love and Light, Nina P.
How lovely to be able to view the world through Joseph's eyes. I think we all need to be able to spend time with a three year old to keep things in perspective.
Hugs,
Debbie
{{{{{{Peggy}}}}}}
Nina - You spread so much sunshine and happiness around the blogosphere with your insightful comments. You are such a shining star.
There is a song by Lesley Gore called "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" which I think is the song you were thinking of.
Keep smiling....keep shining dear friend. :0)
Debbie - So true. People are always telling me how fortunate Joseph is to have a friend like me to entertain him each week BUT I feel I am the fortunate one seeing the world through his eyes and living in the moment.
Hugs to you too. :)
Stoneweaver - Here is another quote for you:
"Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you had left open" - John Barrymore
Big hugs back to you!
:O)
Who is it that said Happiness is an inside job? I can't remember but it's so true! When I was younger I ALWAYS looked outside of myself for fulfillment and happiness. Imagine how dumb-struck I was when I realized it was all up to me! What freedom and relief! Love your photos of that sweet child...3 is my favorite age!
Diantha (Life Potentials Network)
Hello thanks for adding to the conversation.
John Powell wrote a book called "Happiness Is An Inside Job"....sounds like a book I should read.
I did the same when I was young and in my 20's, 30's and 40's....looking for happiness outside of myself....some people are SLOW learners! LOL.
Your words freedom and relief just blew me away! I hadn't thought of my new found knowledge in terms of those words until NOW.
Take care
Peggy
Awww... thanks for the song! Y'know, I've heard it many times, but having it posted for me made the words really hit home. Y'know, you have an uncanny knack of really knowing who I am... I'm blessed!
And I hope you're surviving the dust-filled skies. I actually watched the news tonight and immediately thought of you when they showed the red sky in Sydney.
Hugs,
Roban
Roban - It was total chaos with fire alarms going off everywhere. Worse dust storm EVER to hit Sydney together with gale-force winds of 100kph. It felt like Armageddon! Thank heavens it blew out to sea by 3pm.
I feel immensely blessed as well having you are as a very special friend. I allow music to speak what cannot be expressed sometimes.
Take care always and keep smiling.
;)
Peggy to spend time with a 3 year old boy can only be matched by spending time with a 3 year old girl.
Love Renee xoxo
Renee - Yes we are blessed aren't we. Please take care and may all the angels keep you company in this sad time you are going through.
Much love and light always :)
Peggy,
Just coming back to read this once more because your heartfelt words ring so very true.
I love the thoughts that you posted from Nina, as well. She put the feeling of perspective into such eloquent words.
Have a restful weekend!
Hugs,
Debbie
Debbie - Yes Nina certainly expresses herself very vividly, she is a very special person.
As you are too spreading light and love around the universe.
I will borrow your words to conclude here:
"May the change of seasons energize you by adding newer and more vibrant colors into your tapestry. And may it allow you to settle into a cozier version of yourself".
Hugs
Peggy
We spend each yoga class discussing one aspect of yoga practice. Lately we have talked alot about our "awareness" and identifying our "authentic" self. As I have contemplated this for myself I have tried to identify within my perceptions what part is my most authentic. Our awareness of its existance can really help us know more about ourselves.
Love Nina's comment about the sun and perception, also the gifts of little Joseph present a clearer picture of authenticity..don't you think! I love your mind!
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