Life is a decision. It has taken me many years to arrive at this awareness.
What I focus on grows in my awareness. We have all experienced focusing on a new car. The first thing you know you see this car everywhere.
Does that mean that car started to appear more often?
Or, does it mean I am now tuned into this car so I notice the occasions when it comes into my field of awareness?
I venture to guess that the latter is the answer.
My insight for today is very simple. What I have eyes for grows in interest to me and consequently I will notice it more often.
I notice that the news media, for example tends to focus on the tragic or traumatic. I was recently involved in the evacuation of a large number of elderly people from a seniors home that caught fire. Fortunately all turned out well and the fire was quickly contained by the good work of very efficient firemen. No one was hurt in the incident. One person suffered a little bit of smoke inhalation. Of all the pictures the media could have focused on, let’s say, of staff, paramedics, firemen and women helping frail elderly people out of the building without a single injury… they took the picture of the one slight casualty receiving oxygen. That, in the mind of the media was a clear attempt to sensationalize.
Why? I thought to myself, did they not focus on all the ‘good’ that was going on?
Of course we are all familiar with the tendency of the media to focus on what they think the public sees as sensational.
Before I go any further on that tangent I want to bring our attention back to focus. What we focus on GROWS in our awareness.
The media could have decided to focus on the great job of evacuation and the happy story around that couldn’t they have?
Anyway, what we focus on takes us in a certain direction is my point. That focus is a decision.
Taking this back to my life, if I choose to focus on all the hurt and problems of my life, what will the outcome of that be?
I hazard a guess that the outcome will be more and more of the same and I will eventually get sarcastic and depressed and all the rest and I will likely get very ill, mentally, emotionally and perhaps even physically.
So, my insight for today is very simple. FOCUS OF THE GOOD all day, as much as I can, just for today.
In this way I can build a ‘mental equivalent’ of seeing good in my mind and imagination.
This is a choice on my part. I make a decision to ‘focus’ on good. That does not mean I’m not aware of the not so good but I am disciplining myself to have eyes only for “Good”.
It, I believe, will build my muscle and my skill set to focus on what is right in life instead, of as the media is wont to do, namely to focus on all the problems.
It may sound like a simple solution but I think that life is indeed pretty simple.
It reminds me of another verse I know: whatever is lovely or praiseworthy, think of such things and the peace that passes all understanding will be yours.”
So, just for today, i choose to have eyes only for the “Good’.