Who Decides For You?

Have you ever thought about how many issues, events, problems – even wars! – are created for us by others? In the past week we’ve had Grey Thursday, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The results of these made-up days of shopping will be analyzed, scrutinized and victimized as the news media, Wall Street and politicians decide the happiness and security of the next month – or perhaps the coming year! – based on how much we spent.

Seriously? Do you realize that there have been people who have lived virtually unscathed through the “Great Recession” we’re coming out of right now? While there were people committing suicide in 1929 many others made their fortunes in the Great Depression. How?

They practiced what many of us already know is possible:  Change your thinking – Change your life! We have choice. We are not mindless automatons. We are creatures of free will who are not bound by instincts. Unlike geese we can choose to fly south for the winter or we can choose to stay in the north and bundle up.

I grew up as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Members of that religion do not enlist in the military or fight in wars. A woman once angrily asked my mother what the world would be like if everyone was like that. I remember my mom smiling back at the woman without saying anything. Why? Because if everyone – literally everyone – refused to fight we’d have peace on earth.

There would be no people in Bangladesh dying in a factory fire while they were sewing clothes for Wal-Mart, Tommy Hilfiger and The Gap at twenty cents an hour. We’d have love in families. We’d have different religions and faiths and cultures enjoying diversity and richness. There would be no hunger, for we would care for one another. There would be no loneliness, because everyone would be loved.

Does world peace sound too good to be true? I still think that it’s good enough to be true, and we can have it now if as a species we decide to have it. We can choose to be bogged down in the strife of the world and the economic reports, or we can choose to live in a way that supports each other and the planet.

We are children of the Universe, abundantly supplied and magnificently blessed with the power to affect change in our lives, which in turns helps everyone around us. We have the power – you and I. Decide to use your power for good for yourself and others today. It beats having to turn on the news or get an alert on your smart phone to inform you how your life will turn out.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

Happy Thanksgiving

Another holiday is upon us when society expects we will act a certain way and experience an approved of emotional response. In a world where everyone is a unique expression of God this expectation is a recipe for disappointment.

None of us experience events exactly the same way. That statement is a given for any of us sharing a Thanksgiving feast with family we’ve not seen in a while. What looks like a wonderful afternoon to us might be a chore to endure for others.

I sincerely hope that with whomever you spend today it is with those who love you as much as you love them. Even if you’re alone you might take time to enjoy the freedom of doing exactly what you want.

The most current unrest in the Middle East or the various news reports on TV can lead one to believe there is nothing about which to be thankful. That would be wrong. Whether you are alone, with a partner or with a large group, please take time to appreciate the good in your life. Be willing to have more of joy and love in the days and months to come.

We are living in one of the most exciting times in the history of humankind. Open to the blessings that are yours to enjoy and share. May you and your loved ones have a joyous and loving Thanksgiving weekend!

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

Are You Temporarily Unavailable?

I tried to sign into my Facebook account just now and received the response:

Account Temporarily Unavailable

Your account is currently unavailable due to a site issue.

We expect this to be resolved shortly. Please try again in a few minutes.

I thought to myself how very appropriate that my Facebook account is reflecting my mood. We know metaphysically that our outer experience reflects our innermost thoughts. After an incredibly high experience on Sunday I found myself on Monday feeling like I just didn’t want to climb the next mountain ahead.

Unpack the supplies. Send the Sherpas home. Crawl back in bed and don’t even pet the cats. Pathetic, yet true. This “account” was temporarily unavailable due to a personal site crash.

Part of acknowledging our mission in life as we work toward our vision is recognizing our need to rest and regenerate. We don’t expect to drive our car for weeks without putting gas in the tank. Well, my husband, Paul, does. He owns a Prius, but that’s not the point. We can so easily become caught up in projects, responsibility and life in general that we forget to eat (or eat junk because it’s quick), work late into the evening or refuse to step away from the computer to just relax.

My Facebook account is up and running again. I assume it’s because the Facebook technical staff scurried about tweaking what needed attention. Whatever they did it worked.

I’m up and running again as well. Fortunately, I have a team of specialists (my prayer partner, my ministerial mentor, my new massage trade partner and my chiropractor) who each found a component in my life that needed re-calibrating, replacing or repairing.

What’s out of synch in your psyche today? What’s the one thing you could change about your thinking that would make all the difference in the world in how you are viewing your life today? You’ll only find out if you stop the craziness and jealously take a few minutes or more for yourself. If that feels selfish understand this:  If you continue down a path of non-stop service or work for everyone else to your own determent you will soon not be any good to anyone, including yourself.

This “account” is now, once again, completely available.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

You Know, You Should...

I did something at church last Sunday that I rarely do. I told the members at Unity that they should do something. I don’t like to be “should” on so, therefore, I do my very best not to “should” on others.

Still, I told them they should be at the membership meeting this month. Membership means something to me and part of what it means is participation. It’s an important meeting so, yes, members should be there. This makes better sense: Granted, if everyone felt as passionate about membership to organizations as I feel, I wouldn’t have to mention it in the first place, but that’s another topic for later.

I bring up “shoulding” (again!) because perhaps you’ve noticed how some people will often compliment you on an accomplishment and then, without even taking a breath, proceed to tell you how you “should” have done it. I find that amazing, almost entertaining, most of the time and downright annoying the rest of the time.

One of the most difficult things to experience is criticism from others, even if those attacks are couched in a compliment. It is at these times that we must dodge and deflect. If we allow others to throw us off balance we can lose sight of our own vision and our goals.

What dodging and defecting unnecessary criticism can do is strengthen our resolve and shore up the core foundations of our beliefs. If we are not careful we can get caught up in the negative attacks. We often find such attacks are based on the person’s own insecurities or feelings of inadequacy.

In the midst of that, however, is the infuriating fact that regardless of the person’s intent (conscious or subconscious), the poor “shoulder” might just have an idea we ought to consider. Like I said, it’s somewhat infuriating. It’s a lot like your ex or your mother-in-law calling you on your stuff. You get the picture and it’s not pretty.

It is an issue of balance. If we can hear criticism constructively and objectively we will become more confident and often find some fine tuning of our actions that we can do to accelerate the progression toward our goals. After a while we’ll be able to hear the words, pick what we can use and cast away the rest. Now that’s power.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry