Mindfulness

I watch the world make scary choices. I watch people vent anger without any thought to coexistence, and the only thing I can do is make certain that my vibration is as peaceful and loving and thoughtful as I can make it.

When I send that vibration of inclusion and serenity out into the world, it resonates with those who need and accept it and they, in turn, respond and modify their own vibration. My job and primary place of power is to change myself. And that keeps me very busy.

How do you handle the negative?

Sometimes the negativity in the world is so prevalent that I feel helpless. Why are people afraid to allow others to be different? We’re all the same energy with unique expressions that add to the richness of our life experience. There’s so much negativity and judgmentalness affecting our world. I don’t care where or why this negativity exists. But I do care about what I’m going to do about it.

How do we change the world?

The major way we can change the world is to change ourselves. When I get through a day without thinking a single judgmental thought, my vibration reflects that. When I sit quietly and listen to a rant while trying to hear what is underneath the words without being judgmental, I gain some insight. And that leads me to compassion, which, in turn, changes my personal vibration.

Then, my compassionate, inclusive, vibration is felt by others. And perhaps it changes them. Perhaps it calms them. Perhaps it reassures them. My job is not to cause a change. My job is to be the change.

Shift how you see the problem

“Problems” are simply opportunities to consider a different approach. We learn from each of the barriers, blockages and problems we encounter. They prompt us to think. They broaden our frame of reference. They deepen our understanding. They cause us to make a new choice. They cause us to release something – a belief or an expectation.

So I watch people being unkind to other people and the first thing I do is look at my own life to make certain my circle of influence is filled with my own kindness and that I encourage acceptance and compassion in those around me. Even better, if someone in my circle is negative and critical, I release them from my circle.

Notice negativity

I can feel negativity in my body. It hurts and I need to walk away from it. Now, I don’t know whether it’s because of being old or bored or feeling irrelevant, but old people are often very negative.

I live in a senior center and have had to withdraw from being with people who are negative, who gossip and who criticize. This is so not my tribe. I am lucky the Internet exists because my forward-thinking, still-getting-things-done tribe is online. Even when I’m alone in my apartment, I’m surrounded by like-minded people online!

Notice the energy of negative and remove yourself from it.

Monitor your own negativity

I have to watch my own negative thoughts. As my body ages, there are things that I have to work harder to do. I started to write “things I can no longer do” but that’s negative.

The positive side is that I’ve begun to put more effort into my physical well-being, whatever that means and looks like to me. So instead of indulging in self-talk that says ‘I can’t do that any more.” I become consciously creative and learn to say, “How can I do that differently that’ll work for me?”

The more thoughtful you are, the more alone you become

Because I’ve been a moderate rebel all my life, I finally figured out that the majority of people in the world do life differently than I do. That doesn’t make either of us right or wrong – just different. I like being different. I like standing alone in my own selection of values.

But what I no longer spend any time doing, now that I’m interacting with people who are like-minded, is giving much thought to what those who aren’t like-minded are doing and thinking. l’m focused on making as much of my life positive as I possibly can. I’m focused on deepening my own spiritual understanding.

Are you focused on the negative?

What would feel different in your life if you only looked for and noticed the positive? That means that if something feels negative, you excuse yourself and go find situations that are more positive. It may mean releasing some friends. It may even mean changing jobs. But most of all it means changing yourself.

Just focus on what you love, what you do well, on who inspires and motives you. And go fill your life with more of that.

That’s how you keep the negative out of your life. Fill yourself up with the positive!

To Sing a Deeper Song consider:

Our Opinion Requires No Thought
Mindfulness as a Path to Self-Awareness
Lose Your Attachment to the Outcome
The Power of the Label You Choose
46 -How the People You Hang With Affect Your Life
35—How to Hold the Space for Change.