As we near the end of another glorious year of life and adventure, we are presented again with the opportunity to make a decision as to the way we choose to perceive our life’s circumstances.
Everyday our mind judges and qualifies each moment of our lives. Either life measures up to our expectations or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, we share with others that we had a bad day. If the day meets our expectations, then we say the day is good. But is this type of communication to both ourselves and others impeccable, and does it reflect the ultimate truth?
It’s easy to get caught up in being victimized by life, even if it’s in the gentlest way. By that I mean, expressing that you are having a bad day at first may not sound like you are a victim of life, but when you look a bit deeper it is. If you truly believed that you create your life perfectly regardless of the outcome according to your mind’s point of view and expectations, then how can the day be bad? It can only be lousy if you feel done to. If that’s the case - then indeed you have just victimized yourself. This may be a subtle point - but it is what it is!
You might be wondering - how can you have gratitude for something that obviously did not work out the way you wanted it to? The key is to understand that life did turn out exactly the way you created it to be – however, in any moment we are never fully apprised of all the contributing factors so things often turn out differently than anticipated. Just because life gave you an outcome that you did not expect does not mean you have to have regrets about it. Simply note what occurred and ask yourself what you could have done differently and learn from the situation. This helps us refine our actions and create lovelier outcomes.
Once you start perceiving life from this point of view you realize that you’ve never made a mistake in your life. You simply took actions that did not have the outcome you anticipated. This understanding takes the fear away from getting out there and taking chances in life because you no longer allow your mind to see failure in your dream. Every time you get an outcome you don’t enjoy, you simply switch gears and take a different action.
As we walk our spiritual path, it behooves us to keep challenging our level of awareness to go higher and higher. It’s not enough to just be satisfied with mediocrity. It’s important to view every word that exits our mouth with suspicion and to take a skeptical view towards our own thoughts and conversation. Don’t be afraid to question the motivation of your mind’s proposals, and if you see yourself leaning towards regret regarding any moment of your day – stop immediately, question your thoughts and switch them to gratitude. Go ahead – give it a go, you might be surprised!
Dr. Sheri Rosenthal is a master Toltec teacher and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Toltec Wisdom and WITH Forgiveness. Having trained with don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements, she currently takes students on spiritual journeys, works with personal apprentices and enjoys being extremely happy. You can reach her at www.sherirosenthal.com, www.journeysofthespirit.com and withforgiveness.com.