I am a deep thinker. I can be in the act of making a cup of tea and before I have filled the cup I have thought about a vast array of things, such as "I wonder what the first human being looked like" ... "What was their name" ... "Were they male or female" ... and the thoughts go on and on until the water in the cup reaches the brim. Seconds can sometimes fit a lot of thinking in.
If you are also a deep thinker, you will know that one of the challenges is to try and explain your deep thoughts and ideas to others. After all, what you have just thought about may seem perfectly clear to you but when someone else hears it they may raise an eyebrow or two. Every time I write a blog post I go through this challenge.
So here goes, let me see if I can explain how one simple act has enabled me to feel joy every day.
For my birthday the other day, I had been treated to a meal with some of my close family. It was the first time we had gone out together since the pandemic began. It was one of those lovely days where what you expected actually happened.
During the meal I felt a basic but powerful sense of contentment and the beginnings of a deep bout of thinking came upon me ... "Why am I feeling so good about this gathering? What is the main thing I am thinking that is making me feel this way?" ... "Is this something I can teach others" ... After a bit more contemplation I realised something that only age and or experience can bring you. The reason I felt so content is I was thinking ... "I am truly grateful".
Being grateful is so underrated. Once you are aware of its simple power it will transform your life for the better.
I have to admit to being made aware of "gratitude" thanks to Eckhart Tolle's teachings. Therefore, why remake the wheel, here he is explaining to you how gratitude can help improve your life:
The next day I again had a very powerful experience of being grateful. What is wonderful is the experience was not anything that cost money to plan. It was not because it was my birthday. It was a moment of pure delight caused by being aware of my little dog lying on the bed in the sunlight. I gently sat next to her and from deep within me I felt so grateful for her being in my life. I realised that even if I never had a moment with her again that this moment was enough.
It was then that I realised you could help keep your mind aware of being grateful by performing a simple act.
This act is as follows:
Act like you will relive every moment!
Drilling deeper in to that statement. It means you should always approach everything you do with awareness, gratefulness and kindness. Everything you do should make you and others feel good and like you want to relive the moment again and again.
After all, those of us who have reached a certain age know that moments pass by quickly and you cannot physically timetravel back to relive them - but - you do mentally remember memories and it is those memories that colour your daily view of life.
If everyone of us chose to act this way throughout their life, the world would be a much happier and more contented place to live.
I know what some of you are going to say. The trouble is not everyone will act this way. Look at Putin and what he has done. How do you enforce acting this way on others?
The answer is simple. You do not enforce this way on others. Instead you take responsibility to act this way yourself. You teach others indirectly through your actions. Kindness breeds kindness.
Imagine if Putin had instead offered his army to help improve parts of the Ukraine. Imagine thousands of soldiers repairing pot holes, painting buildings, washing off graffiti and much more ... How would the Ukraine have reacted seeing this? We would be living in a different world that is for sure.
Bringing this back to you right now. Look around you. Take a breath. Be grateful for your current moment. Even if you are on a busy commuter train, be grateful you are alive to witness everything that comes to your senses. Life is happening every second to you. Life is in itself a song, you just have to learn to listen and dance to it.
Take care of yourself today.
Author: Christian Jacques Bennett*
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Search Terms: Thought, Mental, Health, Wellness, Life, Improve, Self, Events, Moments, Pleasure, Manifest, Good, Goodness, Kind, Spiritual, Enlightenment, Living.
Image by Lothar Dieterich from Pixabay
