Jenna, my wife bought a swan raft for
the pool. I hated it. I thought it
was an eye saw. It was like 4
feet long by 2 feet or 3 feet
high.
Guess what happened when I had that thought.
I got angry at the raft.
I complained to my friends. I took pictures
of it and sent it to them. I
told Jenna, it was too big and ugly.
That's what happens when you add fuel
to negative thoughts.
The fire grows bigger, you get even more
agitated.
Fortunately,
I've been practicing mindfulness.
And about 23 hours later,
I was able to drop back.
I became aware of my thoughts rather than
becoming my thoughts.
Once I became aware of my thoughts, I
asked myself this question.
Who is this person
telling me the raft is an eye saw?
When I looked for the look,
I couldn't find them.
That's because the ego is an illusion. The
raft isn't an eye sore
the raft isn't ugly.
Those are labels,
a story my ego made up.
The raft just is.
It's a piece of plastic floating in the
pool.
It's our perceptions, not external events
that disturb us.
Whenever I'm able to observe my thoughts,
I turn down the volume.
I feel calm
and peaceful.
The opposite is also true.
I am definitely a work in progress
in this area.
Are you?