Written By Alan Good
Are you experiencing the good life or mired in the murky past or future? Where are you living?
It’s all about how you think. Are your thoughts pleasant and contain images of good times gone by or perhaps grandchildren? Or do you ruminate about bad times and what perhaps has occurred to you that wasn’t pleasant?
As seniors, we have a lot of things in the rearview mirror. For me, over seventy years of memory have been imbedded—granted, there are many forgotten recollections. But what I choose to dwell on is what forms my life.
We can choose to live a life of peacefulness or one of disturbance. Our life can be one of great victories, or defeat. Just now, as your read this, what are your thoughts. Did remember unpleasant events or good ones?
Pain and suffering can bring out the worst, but they can also be a light making us focus on hope. Sickness, disease, surgery, loneliness, can be agencies for being lowly in spirit or guides toward a fulfilling life. These events can be instruments toward raising our spirits.
Whatever your challenge, you can grow from it, learn in it. Disease is just that—dis-ease. Within these states we can become self-conscious. That means we are conscious of self. You might say that at those times we are full of ourselves. Then, our minds are full of our suffering with little room for anything else. We may judge the challenge as bad, or wrong, and therefore cannot see beyond it.
Being Non-judgemental is seeing past the pain. We see that the pain is not us—we are not the pain. The challenge is, but is not us. We can meet the pain or suffering head on! How? First, by being present.
In most trials our minds look ahead at what might happen. Take, for example, receiving news that you have cancer or some other life-threatening event. Our thoughts may take us to questions about treatments, surgeries, family issues, and more. In a split second we have travelled—mentally—over days, weeks, even months of events. Events that may not occur.
This isn’t about positive thinking. This is thinking presently. This is dealing with this moment—the only time you really have! Tomorrow, next week, may never appear. We are human beings. That second part—beings—means we have a spiritual side. With that we can control our minds, control our thoughts.
We can see through our challenges and believe there is a way through. We stop worrying because NOW we are fine, and that is where we are—now! We can have an attitude of gratitude and live in a higher altitude. This isn’t pie in the sky but living each moment mindfully—intentionally.
Wouldn’t it be better to live peacefully and not try and blame others, or ourselves for that matter, for what we are?
Are you living in the mud or on the wings of faith? It’s your choice.
