The Power of the Mind

On Sunday my friend dared me to take the challenge. I was complaining on and on about something and she asked me to try and shut up about it then maybe I would think less about and maybe...just maybe...I could get it off my mind. Guess what? It worked! I am amazed! Today she asked me how I was doing and it took me a while to figure out what she was going on about. That is what I call a 200 % success rate!

Courtesy of Google Images

The mind is powerful. Wars are won in the mind long before the soldiers get onto the battlefield. With our minds we can rule the world and fashion hostile takeovers. With the same minds we can redefine failure and possibly get our fifteen minutes of fame or get into the Guinness book of records for all the wrong reasons. More like shame. It all starts and possibly ends in the mind.

Courtesy of Google Images

The Bible says that out of the fruit of our lips our lives are filled with good things. Such is the power of the mind and by extension the tongue. What would happen if we only thought of good things? Best case scenario, we would be always smiling, always happy because we expect good things to happen and maybe they would. Worst case scenario, we could turn into Mort, the Lemar on Penguins of Madagascar, living in our own bubble. You could count the times Mort is angry. They are few and far between. Mostly related to King Julien and the royal feet. Speaking of which, Vain has a face! Don't even get me started on that! Point is its worth a shot.

Courtesy of Google Images

I believe that we are who we think we are. For real. Our thoughts have a significant impact on our actions and view of life. It shows in the way we walk and talk; our countenance and our actions. How can you convince someone that you have what it takes to deliver on something if you cannot even convince yourself? Thank God for all the people who believed in us long before we ever did! Thanks to them and God we are who we are today. However, the buck also stops with us. Positive thinking like love is a choice. It is true that there are a myriad of issues and challenges in our daily lives. Sometimes enough to drive out all the hope in our hearts. Nonetheless, we need to believe the best for ourselves, it is the least we can do.

Courtesy Of Google Images

I have wasted so much time in my life worrying about things that did not even happen. I have lost smiles, opportunities, Kodak moments I should have enjoyed more if I just chose to believe the best for my future. Life is short. Our best moments are ahead of us! Are you ready for them?

Courtesy of Google Images

The Gift of Goodbye

Saying goodbye is a journey. You have it all planned out in your head. How you will say it, the little speech and the final send off. I was watching a mother saying goodbye to her daughter the other day, she had it all figured out. Right up to the moment when her daughter left and she didn't know if she would ever see her again. Then the goodbye began. She broke into tears and cried for the next few months. 

Courtesy of Google Images

I have seen it everywhere; in airports, funerals, office, school and in relationships. Some people are able to say goodbye in the moment and once it is over they move on with their lives. Others are able to say goodbye well before it happens so that by the time the person is leaving they have dealt with their emotions and are at peace with the hand destiny has dealt them. Some people begin to say good bye after the person has left. They are able to put up a brave front and seem like they have it all together, only to fall apart once they understand that season of their lives is over. 

                                    

Goodbye is very much related to the seasons of our lives. Just like the earth has different seasons, I believe our lives are the same. People come into our lives for a season. If we are lucky, they live through the seasons and last a lifetime. Depending on the person, it may be a lifetime of joy or one of pain. 

Courtesy of Google Images

Nonetheless, it means that we need to cherish the people in our lives and appreciate them for the value they add to our existence. The good people in our lives who can look us in the eyes and tell us the bare-faced truth. The ones who stand by you even when you have been a horrible friend or family member. The awesome people on whose shoulders you can cry like a baby and know they will be there for you. Our families that love us to death and would move the earth and the oceans to make sure we have what we need. Our great and loving God who loves us and wants the best for us.

If it was up to me, some people would stay forever in my life and we would live in a village on some beach island for the rest of our lives together. Money would not be an issue. Life would be one big party and we would never have a care in the world.

Courtesy of Google Images

Our world is a different place. There is hunger, disasters, petty politics that add little value to our lives and great disparities in our human conditions. Dehumanizing poverty and conflict that rob the soul of the water of life. There are people who forgot how to smile and children that never had the chance to be happy.

Next time you have to say goodbye to someone, a situation or a place, ask yourself if you were all that you could have been. Did you add value? Given the chance to do it again would you have changed anything? Did you make some unfair assumptions or generalizations? Did you contribute to positive lasting change?

Sometimes goodbye is only a gift if we were able to do what we needed to do. Goodbye is a gift when we walk away from harmful or hurtful situations. Goodbye is a gift when we are embracing new challenges and opportunities. Goodbye is a gift when the season is over. When we can look back at the good, the bad and the ugly and see that this is the best thing that could ever have happened to us.

Courtesy of Google Images

Goodbye may not always feel like a gift. Sometimes it feels like your heart has been ripped apart; like the sun will never shine again or like you will never be able to smile again. Hang in there. When the birds have sang all day and the rain has stopped. When the wind has blown and all the leaves fall down. In the still moments of the night, when all you can hear is your heart beating. You can hear the still small voice in your heart say 'Fear Not'. The Creator of the universe has promised to never leave us or forsake us. You can trust Him.