Here we are: sitting like frightened little rabbits caught in the head lights of an oncoming, unstoppable freight train called recession. All around us the world is falling apart: wars, conflicts, thousands of people being laid off, banks failing, wild fires destroying homes and lives, cricket teams being the target of armed extremists, car bombs killing innocent people in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq... What's next, Armageddon?
If we would believe that this is the only reality we live in these days it does look pretty dire indeed. But then is it? Are we going along with the indoctrination of the media? Are we but tumble weeds being blown around the surface of a god forsaken desert landscape by the forces that be with no free will of our own?
Or are we co-creators of our own future? How much influence do we actually have on our lives and that of others around us anyway? AND WHAT DO YOU DO TO STAY HAPPY AND INSPIRED THESE DAYS?
I have decided that life is goodness and to help feel and fuel this goodness so it can create a strong and balanced sense of well being inside myself I constantly discipline myself to FEEL GOOD. How? Well, there's many ways to do that and in the next couple of weeks I will share some of them here. Most of them are pretty simple and only need a little bit of our time. Some of them require some more time and a good few of them call for some real discipline. But hey, no one's gonna do it for us and if we stop believing and fueling the goodness, the love, the friendships and the laughter in the world we are in fact active co-creators of the opposite. So get off your couch already!
#1 - READ INSPIRATIONAL STORIES
If the world around you is not sparking your inspiration go look for it. There's an endless supply of goodness in the universe waiting for you to invite it in! Here's a little story to set you off in the right direction. I don't know if this story is actually true or not but it sure strikes a chord in the subconscious:
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An eye witness account from New York City , on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.
A lady approached the young boy and said, "My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!"
"I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,"was the boy's reply.
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel.
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes.
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him.. She patted him on the head and said, "No doubt, you will be more comfortable now."
As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her .
"Are you God's wife?"
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Have a wonder-filled day!
Maarten
