Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas
It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts. Robert h. Schuller
At Toastmasters one of the speeches was, “The Son of a Thought.” The speaker broke down the thought, “We want ice for our drink and we have no ice cubes, and how wonderful it would be to have a refrigerator with an ice maker.” A week later opening the door to our new refrigerator with an ice maker, we wondered how this new purchase ended up in our home when there was nothing wrong with our old refrigerator, and it wasn’t something we were planning to purchase.
Where do some of the thoughts that have changed the world come from? We listen to someone’s adventures and start thinking we want a life filled with adventure, too. We might contemplate joining a gym when one of our friends transforms from couch potato to fit and adventure-seeking.
Someone writes a book and we think I’ve always wanted to do that, and if they can, I can. But what if one of our friends gets a divorce, is that contagious too? If they start believing in conspiracy theories, losing faith in our leaders, and feeling our society is going down the drain, do we start seeing what they’re seeing?
If thoughts and emotions are contagious, how do we know if our thoughts and feelings are our own or someone else’s? How do we combat other people’s thoughts and emotions from taking up space in our heads? Are we feeding our minds with good thoughts to combat the negativity around us?
Do we examine our negative thoughts and ask if they are true? Do we find if we are well-rested, energized, and in control of our emotional state we will be less susceptible to other’s negative emotions?
If we give something positive to others, it will return to us. If we give negative, that negativity will be returned. Allu Arjun
When we want to be there for someone stuck in a negative cycle do we risk becoming caught up in a negative cycle too? How do we support others and protect ourselves? Does negative thinking keep our suffering fresh? If we practice gratitude can we prevent negative thoughts from taking over? Is gratitude the antidote we need to practice to keep negativity from taking over our lives?
There are always negative things happening in the world, but there are also positive things happening, and we need to keep a balanced view because life is neither all good nor all bad. If we think everything is good we might not make the improvements in our lives we could make and if we see everything as all bad we might give up on being able to improve anything and find that is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When we can control nothing else can we control our thoughts, and by controlling our thoughts find we can control things we thought were beyond our control? If we question our thoughts, can we have a more balanced view of life, ourselves, and others? Does dwelling on the negative only contribute to its power?
Negativity is an addiction to the bleak shadow that lingers around every human form, and you can transfigure negativity by turning it toward the light of your soul. John O’Donohue
It is better to dwell on the beautiful things in life than the negative. Lailah Gifty Akita
Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration moving you from negative to positive. Oprah Winfrey
Thank you for reading this post. Please return and read more and have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.
