Recollecting, again! the time I refused to listen to negative music. No books, TV shows or movies that featured bad vibes. Still consider this radical curating unsustainable.
Ignoring or pretending differences don’t exist is impracticable. The world is diverse; opposing opinions and experience create misperceptions and conflict. What’s benign to me may be malignant to others.
Accepting this world of contrast, learning to roll with it – not fight it; seems like a worthy goal.
Many creatives appreciate how the character arc requires transformation. Big change often comes from some struggle or strife; a formula that also plays out in real life. Friction reveals me to me. My reactions to disagreements clue me in to areas I can focus to boost my contentment and joy.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s tells me to invite “positive seeds” – the second of five practices to feed happiness. “Nothing exists without its opposite.” Whatever quality I want to nurture, watering it allows it to grow, while its opposite fades away. Stop the struggle.
Louise Hay applies a similar method to healing the body. Her mind-body connection approach acknowledges how our emotions and worries impact us physically. In her book Heal Your Body A-Z, she suggests possible interpretations on why I might not feel well. Alongside that reading is an alternate thought pattern. By focusing on an upbeat, constructive thought – I invite positive seeds in my body.
Thay’s third practice of mindfulness asks me to listen to my mind, emotions and body. Input that’s hard and stressful is important. Sitting in meditation, intentional breathing and simply walking, allow me to hear my higher self.
Inviting the opposite of my biggest trouble isn’t my default move. But I know that what I focus on grows. Being mindful grows a happy garden.
“What’s funny about opposites be that wet and dry both has water, boy and girl be about people, Heaven and Hell be the places you go when you die. They all has something in common. So they an’t completely different from each other the way people think. Having the one don’t mean t’other be gone.” ― Tracy Chevalier, Burning Bright
