SOME THOUGHTS FROM A FORGOTTEN FILE

I have a computer file set aside solely for the purpose of saving ideas and snippets that I may find useful at a later date.  I tend to forget about the file and when I do remember to refer to it, I am always surprised by what I have tucked away.  A few hundred words labelled "Live in the Heart" is a case in point.

I honestly do not know the source of the brief essay nor what there was about it initially that made me save it. Regardless, it seemed to speak to me a few minutes ago when I stumbled across it.  Maybe because I am getting long in the tooth and lack tolerance at times, I find myself increasingly critical and suspicious of people and events and I have to consciously look inward to rationalize and balance thinking that, if left unchecked, can fester into resentment.

Unfortunately, it is the nature of the mind to invariably remember the one bad thing that a person does and to overlook the 99 good things.  We tend to knee-jerk and jump to conclusions when we hear about the discretions of our politicians, star athletes and entertainers in particular.  We are often agitated by the mistakes of friends and close family members. That was exactly the point of the "Live in the Heart" piece that I filed away some time ago.  True enough, if we allow ourselves to be drawn into highlighting the mistakes of others we invite a negative personal mindset.  However, if we live in the heart we are not drawn to the faults of others (even the minor ones). It is in the heart that we can have a true sense of oneness with others, their faults seem insignificant and we can feel a sense of identity with their achievements.

I also highlighted a sentence:  "The worst thing for a negative frame of mind is to mope around feeling sorry for ourselves."  I think that at the time I had several acquaintances who were struggling with the Patti Page Syndrome (Is that all there is?) and I thought there might be merit in reminding them that, ruminating on our bad luck, worries, fears and lack of accomplishment, will not diminish them in any way. Exercise, it was suggested, can be a powerful way to bring about a new consciousness. Negativity is often associated with boredom and lack of purpose. The sentence: "Stop endlessly checking emails and surfing the web, look instead for something good to do with your life" seemed to address directly those of us who experience mid, or late-life anxiety and look to the new world of Internet quick fixes for help.  In other words, get busy, get out and do something -- make a contribution to society, no matter how small.

Strangely enough, the tendency to be critical and suspicious can sometimes be turned on ourselves as well.  Our own mind can be our worst enemy in this regard and very self critical. Again, as I have said many times in previous posts, it is important not to lose a sense of balance.  For the various bad things we too may have done, we have also done countless good things. 

Sometimes a little personal two-way inventory is all that is required to improve our stock in life.