What Goes Around Comes Around 

Finding motivation for new topics can be difficult, and sometimes it is just downright challenging.  Living in Maine, there are a lot of inspirations; natural beauty, people, and space all can contribute.   Yet the great thoughts I have

been exposed to through reading and the quest for knowledge can fuel the fire of creativity.  Below are some of the motivations I have been lucky enough to be exposed to. Mindfulness, listening, facing fear, and what goes around comes back to you. What you send out to the world in your thoughts and your actions does reappear in your life, leading to some of my most exciting writing. Sometimes the return is terrific, but sometimes the exciting part is we get back exactly what we deserve. Live your life in selfishness, never thinking of anyone but yourself, and you will find those things as a part of your experience. Here are a few ideas to find the creative mojo we need to express ourselves.

Mindfulness is Important

I can lose focus on what I am currently doing in so many ways. Sometimes my mind runs back into the mist of the past. Just as often, it is pulled forward into the fantasy of what may come. But the future is uncertain at best, and the past is over, can’t be changed, and is probably open to many different interpretations.

Still more taxing to my mind is the practice of trying to do 12 things at once, and I lose focus on enjoying whatever I am doing in the name of a hurry.  All of the things that I accomplished today, I was careful to do each one at a time, or at least when I caught myself doing something and thinking about something else, I re-focused on the task at hand.   I got all of the studies done better and completed them quicker.

One of the great things I read was all of the helpful exercises you can do to bring yourself back into the moment.  Meditation is an excellent practice for keeping your thoughts at bay and providing mindfulness to your day. Focusing on a simple mantra or just continually trying to concentrate on your breath will keep you at the moment. Your mind will drift away like a cloud on a breeze, but you can always bring your awareness back to the moment by merely realizing you lost your focus. This realization restores your conscious directive thought to the moment.  Mindfulness will also allow you to quiet the mind to listen to your heart.

Listen to Your heart.

It doesn’t matter what your religion or philosophy is. As a human being living on the face of the Earth, you have to deal with the voices of your Ego. Without going into a lot of detail, this is the voice you often hear that tells you negative things about yourself. Its primary function is to keep you safe, but in doing that, it can provide devastating feedback and negative comments that destroy your self-esteem.

Today I was reminded that even though you may never be able to get rid of this part of yourself altogether, you can learn to listen to it less and less.  Through practice, you can recognize when these thoughts come to you.  Anytime you think, “I am not good enough” or “You most likely will fail.” Then you are listening to your ego. The alternative is to listen to your heart.

Your heart knows what is best for you and can answer any question because your heart is your connection to the universe.  The voice of the heart is not as loud as the ego. Much like it is difficult to hear sound advice with a siren screaming in your ear, the ego distracts and drowns out this voice you should be hearing.  It is always there, always has been, and always will be. You need to ask a question and be able to listen for the answer.

 Facing My Fear

I have had cause to reflect that no matter how much distance we have covered in life, there are still some fears that I need to address daily to be free of their influence.  It is the fear of worrying about what other people think of me.  How much that shyness affected me all of my life, and this is a daily battle every day.

I am sure others understand what I speak about, the feeling of just wanting to fit in and not stand out because then you might be afraid the world will notice all of your faults.   The side effect of this thought pattern is that you are so scared to let anyone see the real you, which is too much of a risk.  This fear can stop you from enjoying many things in life.

As you grow older and experience teaches you other lessons, you get to a point where you have to say to hell with all of that stuff. Be yourself. Some will like it, and some will not. That is the way life goes. At least when you close your eyes at night, you know that you have been the most honest version of yourself that you can be. We can’t do any better than that.

What Goes Around, Comes Back Around

This was a song by Justin Timberlake, and I was reminded that I do not have high respect for his acting ability, but more importantly, I remembered the truth of this phrase in life.

It is a karmic statement that what you put out into the world will come back to you, often with a bit of extra.  Most significantly, today, I was thinking about how we treat others.  If you lie to someone and mistreat them, then someone will most likely mistreat you.

Often we are so personally involved in the situations of our lives that we never notice this game in action until we take a step back and look at the whole game board. We can see the connection between our activities and the experiences we have.

I only know that I decide to be honest, kind, caring, and thoughtful because that is all I can control in life.

 To Move Forward, Leave the Past Behind You

This is a part of what I read today:

I wish you gone, dear memory,
I wish I didn’t have to remember every detail…..

I wish I could be free
Of the shackles that you have in me…..

I wish for forgiveness
I wish for it never to have happened….

I remembered how this felt.  We have all been there, a person is gone, and it is for good. There may have been good reasons, but a part remains even though they are gone. A longing for the past causes pain.   Eventually, we learn to move on and let it go; the shackles of that memory are loosed, and you find that love isn’t a prison sentence placing you in a memory cell. It is the power that sets you free.

Final Thought

Today I was struck by so much good writing and thought that I could have kept going, but I only have a bit of time to write.  Now my secret is out, and I get much of my motivation and inspiration from the people who create each day wonderfully! Each creator provides a garden of ideas and a playground for thought!

What other songs could I choose for this?