Careful What You Think

Thought for the Day

I have always been an active participant in sporting events. What I lacked in skill I made up for in enthusiasm. And one of the key things I have learned from sports is that it matters what you think. For example: If you are playing golf and have hit your ball into a sand trap, you must not allow thoughts of mishitting the ball enter your mind.

If you do, the chance of hitting it badly increases geometrically to the point of a near guarantee that you will do what you have thought. It has happened to me many times. When a negative thought creeps into my head I stop and consider the thought as a hostile takeover. I reset my thought process and consider the shot anew. I review the correct stance, wiggle my feet into a solid footing, and picture in my mind what the completed shot will do.  By that I mean what the flight of the ball will look like, where it will land and where it will end up.

Ideally, that thought will set so firmly as a picture in my head that the result will occur just as I have pictured it. Believe me, it works. Thoughts are things. What you conjure will happen. So when a friend began discussing what was happening as a result of aging I thought of those principles. Practicing positive thinking is very important where maturing is concerned.

A tiny suggestion my friend, if I may. As we come to accept the fact that years have gathered behind us and now show a remarkable accumulation in the stock room, remember this. How we acknowledge them matters. Make certain your acceptance doesn't signal defeat, only awareness to a sometimes inconvenient truth. And, if you must cling to something, cling to the beautiful part of you that laughs and loves and explores like a child but with the wisdom of a well seasoned connoisseur.

Forget the little bumps and stumbles that naturally occur to those of any age. If you forget, attribute it to your busy life. If you fail, learn enough to avoid doing it again. If it hurts, be grateful you can feel. And if you cry, celebrate the intensity of your love of  life and friends enough to touch your heart.

If you’ve fallen and can't get up, look up for a moment and think what joy to see. Then, consider how now your children may offer you jewelry of a sort to improve your chances of avoiding a terrible scene and a bad smell the next time they come to visit.

Life is about the art of the possible. If it is possible who’s to say it might not happen for you? So, the next time a minor infraction of protocol poses a bit of an inconvenience. Tilt your head and narrow your eyes - just a bit.  Curl your lips into a knowing, leerish smile then look directly at the camera filming your life and say…..whatever you choose.

©Herb Ratliff, October 10, 2012, All Rights Reserved