Every now and again, life provides me with an opportunity to remember the importance of a few things. It is through contrast that we learn the most. As much as I would love to live in a world where there was no contrast and things that caused me to feel unpleasant emotions, I understand it is through the experiences that are displeasing, that our soul grows. The contrast that we experience is ultimately for our highest good.
I am inspired to write this because I work in retail and there are plenty of opportunities to find the silver lining, I am saying this in the highest vibration possible. Haha! And those of you who work in retail or the service industry know exactly what I am talking about. 🙂 However, I will add here that I changed my attitude and outlook on life, for the better, years ago when I started my own spiritual journey, and majority of the time, it’s pleasant people I experience on a daily basis. However, every now and again…
But this isn’t intended to be a journal-type entry, nor a rant, nor do I want to put attention on the negative. I am just reminded of certain things when these contrasting experiences occur. And with all things, I do my best to see the silver lining in things or try to investigate what this person/situation has taught me or reminded me. Most of you who have found your way here to my blog will not find anything new here; however, I feel the urge to share anyways. Reminders are important. Some of which I will discuss tonight…
Don’t sweat the small stuff. There is so much awesome-ness in this world that gets overlooked because there’s a tendency to get too caught up in the things that are really not worth the energy (superficial). We tend to put our lives and others under a microscope, and by doing so we blind ourselves with all the miniscule “stuff” that wouldn’t bother us if we took a step back. When we’re stressed it’s even worse, we pick apart ourselves, others, 
our job, the world and everything seems daunting. When we step back and let ourselves off the hook for a while, things don’t seem so bad after all. This is the power of perception. Ask yourself if it’s not going to matter in a few days, weeks or months, is it really worth letting my ego and emotions get the better of me? Is there something more productive or better-feeling I could spend my energy on and put my focus towards? Chances are you could think of at least a few, if you stopped and silenced your mind for a few moments.
Treat people how you want to be treated. Cliche maybe. Valid absolutely. Umm…you’re doing it wrong > 
We are all more connected than we realize and the sooner we start acting more like friends, brothers and sisters, the better our lives will be and we will be reminded of why we came here in the first place. This requires a conscious effort on our part to be aware of how we are behaving, what we are saying and how we are saying it – which a vast majority of us aren’t doing. We live our lives on auto-pilot and have a difficult time understanding how we got from point A to point B. But if you want others to treat you with the respect and love that we all deserve, then you have to be that when you’re out in the world. You have to BE what you want in life – you have to BE the type of person you want to come into contact with. It is not good enough to say you want to be treated with love and then go about your day mindlessly interacting with others with whatever emotion you happen to be experiencing at the moment. What you put out is what you get back. No exceptions. Call this the “Law of Attraction,” “Karma” or whatever resonates most with you, but this is a fundamental Universal Law. Life is a mirror – other people are a mirror. Your dominant life experiences are reflections of you. This is the rule, not the exception.
Don’t allow others to steal your power away. This one is tough, especially when it comes to our loved ones. But it does get easier with practice. You are the one in control of your emotions and your reactions, all day every day. There will be circumstances that will challenge your ability to “keep your cool” but when you can rise above whatever is going on outside of you, remembering that you are not your emotions, you are taking the control of your happiness and putting it into your hands, where it should be. It does not belong in the hands of someone else. It also cannot – it simply does not work that way because NO ONE will ever be, do or say, everything that you need to be happy all of the time. You did not come here to rely on others to create an enjoyable experience for you. You understood fully that the responsibility in creating your happiness and life experiences was and is in your hands. So…you are creating and allowing your happiness, to which ever extent is your choice.There is so much freedom in that! Would you not agree? By allowing others to take that freedom away from you, goes against everything You, the bigger part of you, knows that is for your highest good.
I am not saying that you need to maintain a level of 100% optimism and positivity, 24/7. This is not realistic, and we are ignoring the very thing that makes us human….our emotions. Our emotions are our guidance system and will guide you if you let them, it isn’t about ignoring what you feel. Some times, we have to give ourselves the permission to feel what we are feeling so we can then move forward. Other times, it is simply better to just let it roll off our backs since there’s bigger fish out there to fry. It’s what you DO with your emotions that is important. You can choose to do nothing, or take a moment then react – should you feel the need to react, or have a knee jerk reaction, responding on impulse. If you live your life unaware and unconsciously, with your emotions being molded in the palm of every person who comes into your experience, you will be miserable and are essentially a puppet on a string, with everyone else being the puppeteer. That to me doesn’t sound like a very pleasant way to spend my time here on Earth, would you not agree?
I am becoming rather long winded – there’s so much more that I could say…as usual. 🙂 When contrast arises in your life and you have a strong emotional reaction, allow it to be an opportunity to reflect, as I have done here. Some times, it’s as simple as, ‘thank you for showing me what I dislike.’ Other times, there is something more profound to learn. The large variety that Earth provides reminds me that with all that I dislike, there is that much more that makes my soul sing. I’m thankful for opportunities to tweak my preferences because that is what ultimately makes me, Me and I know there is always something more good-feeling, more joyous, more loving, ready and waiting for me – that’s the Universe’s promise. We pinky-swore before I came here. 😉
With love, cosmic friends,
S.
My Universe Within 