change your perceptions and you change your life

Shit happens.....thats just a fact of life.
We all have a story, we all have our hurts and aches and pains and dramas. So I am not going to bore you with mine...

Most people get stuck though, on victim mode, pointing their fingers at someone else accusingly. She did it to me, or I was molested, or I had a very bad childhood....become welcome excuses and sought after escapisms for most people.

I understood quite a while ago that I, and I alone am responsible for my life. But, when I had cancer and bells pallsy a couple of months ago I was kicked so hard in the butt by life, that I quite spontaneously understood that my joy and my peace of mind and my happiness is not ever dependant upon another. Why is it that we have to go through so much trouble and pain until we finally learn???

Being so sick made me realise how precious life is and how much I had taken completely for granted. You know, I had been getting upset left, right and centre at the slightest provocation. If anyone had an argument with me, or I saw some disturbing news on TV, or I had a fight, someone critisized me...or whatever turmoil....whooosh....gone was my peace of mind. And then I finally understood, applause please, that my peace of mind is not dependant upon others. That the only person responsible for my happiness was me. Regardless of what seemed to be happening in my life, no matter what outer circumstances I appeared to find myself in..none of it mattered. It didnt change one bit who I was. That is unless I give it the power to do so.

Then I finally saw that nothing in life has a meaning save what we attach to it. It made life much easier for me. When something happens, a huge bill arrives in the post, a fight, a car crash, a disease whatever, you are still who you are and nothing can ever change that. Now we can either go into full blown victim mode and give all our power away, or we can take the situation and triumph joyously over it. I chose the latter, it makes my life so much more precious and loving.

So now, whenever something goes wrong, I remind myself this is just an illusion, you dont really know why this is happening so no reason to go frantic about it. I am that I am. And such joy life then becomes. It gives you so much space to cultivate other things, like compassion instead of impatience and love instead of fear and joy instead of depression.

Life is so precious, dont wait until you are forced to change by getting really sick like me! Stop squabbling and moping and whining and argumenting about such petty things, they are so useless. Use time creatively instead. Like telling yourself right now how precious you are and that for that reason alone you will work hard at living the most loving, joyous, prosperous and abundant life you can! Dont wait until its too late!