I remember a comedian years ago who had me in stitches. He joked about how crazy it is that we get impatient with the time it takes to send an email or a text, given the fact that the computer in our phone would have taken up a whole room just fifty years ago! We forget that the signal is sent into outer space, bounces off satellites, gets received by cell towers, and finds your receiver’s phone before it shows up in the inbox or messages. Suddenly, he said, thirty seconds seems like a miracle! He was funny, but his point made me think about how easy it is to whine about things that don’t go how we wish when so much in life works amazingly well.
Several years ago, I decided it was time for new habits. I started religiously looking for the good. Photography helped. I walk through the woods, camera in hand, looking for what is interesting and beautiful. A patch of lichens is a work of art. A tree growing to accommodate the canyon winds is a fascinating sculpture. Dew drops on leaves are mesmerizing universes of reflection. There is so much good.
There are so many good people, too. Whereas I used to get upset about bad drivers, now I pray for them and notice all the nice people who let me merge into a lane. I used to be upset about the few people I hired who didn’t do their jobs. Now, I try to focus on the incredible people who are great at what they do, and of course, that focus attracts more of them. Just last week, I had someone come out and help with the computer. He took ten minutes to do his job, and because I had to pay for an hour, he started looking for other things to fix. He resolved computer issues I’d had for years!
The habit of looking for the good came in very handy last weekend. I was about to leave for a beautiful fall hike when I got a strong feeling that I should be cautious on the road. I took a few extra minutes and sat with the angels before getting in the car. I looked for all the good, raised my vibe, and ensured I was in peace before I even backed out of my driveway. Sure enough, I nearly got hit on the freeway but swerved and recovered without incident. The car didn’t tip, all was well, and I finished singing along with the song on the radio. In the past, such an event would have unnerved me so much that it would have ruined my day, not to mention my hike. Ten minutes later, it was like it never happened. The day was beautiful. The air was crisp. No harm. The present moment was delicious.
The hike was beyond beautiful. I was thrilled to be in nature again after putting up with an injury all summer. It dawned on me in mid-Sept that I needed to focus on being healed; weeks later, I was. Up to my thighs in the crystal clear creek, I was in heaven! The ravens I’ve known for over a decade called me to their secret spot. I proceeded to share my annual stash of cashews, which they grab like chipmunks, fill up their beaks, and fly off to deposit them in the nest. Sitting two feet away from these magnificent birds, looking into each other’s eyes with love and admiration, the present moment was pure perfection.
A few minutes later, happily ungrounded (again), I slipped on the wet rocks in the creek and banged up the other foot pretty badly. Back four miles in the woods with no reception, there was only one good option. Focus on the good and hike out. So I did. I focused on the icy water that felt amazing. I focused on the beautiful trees and the sky overhead. When I got to a more well-traveled section of the trail, I focused on the kind people, the happy dogs, and the laughter echoing through the forest. I focused on how grateful I was to have healed the other foot and how amazing the breeze felt on my skin. I made it to the car without thinking about the pain and drove home with the same mindset.
The next day, my foot looked like a football, but I decided I was not going to settle for whining and moaning about an injury. I was going to focus on it being healed. I gazed online with Braco (the miracle healer, www.braco-tv.me). I slathered the foot with arnica by day and castor oil by night. Most importantly, I decided to do as the angels suggest, and acknowledged every little good thing I noticed or did all day. “Wow, I cooked a great breakfast.” “Good job, Ann! You got up and didn’t trip!” “I love my clients.” “I can’t hike, so I’ll make t-shirts.” On it went, and you guessed it, by the end of the day, I was walking on both feet, albeit slowly, without pain. Two days later, the swelling is 75% gone, and I barely think about having an injury. It is healing in record time. Noticing what is fine and fun is both helpful and healing!
Here are a few pointers to help you cultivate the habit of constantly noticing what is fine and fun, which will put you in a vibration to allow all manner of help, healing, and solutions:
1. Keep a book of Positive Thoughts
I started this years ago and still have such a book. Every night, I record a magic moment, a happy thought, a good quote, or a happy memory from the day. It might be an encounter with something or someone I appreciate. It might be the smallest thing that went right. The book is like a charged battery that stores positive energy. All I have to do is open it up or hold it to feel all that love and appreciation. One good thought at a time, even if only one a day, you can start to shift the balance of your energy.
2. Keep a “Complaint” and a “Compliment” Jar
When we complain, we throw our energy away. When we complement life (ourselves, another, or simply spend time in appreciation), we open to receive more energy from the Source. There’s nothing like using real coins or cash to drive this point home.
Get two jars, one for “complaints” and one for “compliments.” Get a stash of coins or cash. When you are complaining or finding fault with yourself, life, or others, toss a coin or a bill in the complaint jar.
When you are complimenting life (through appreciation or positive thoughts, words, or deeds), put some coins or bills in the compliments jar.
When the complaint jar fills up, donate it to some worthy organization to transform that negative energy.
When your compliment jar fills up, spend the money on something you enjoy.
This might sound like a silly little exercise, but sometimes, we need to have a visual representation of our energy to see where it is going.
3. Challenge yourself to look for all you do right
We’re so hard on ourselves. The angels are right. Self-criticism is easy. Acknowledging all we do right takes practice.
Try for just a day to notice everything you do right. “I tied those shoes perfectly! I remembered where my keys were! I was kind to the person at the bank.” These things seem so insignificant in terms of achievements, yet it is so easy to be merciless with ourselves if we trip over a badly tied shoelace, lose the keys, or forget kindness! Why not flip over to the lighter side and gloss over what we do “wrong” while focusing more on what we do right?
These things seem small compared to wars, weather, fighting, and famine, and in the 3D sense, they are. Nonetheless, the more we fill our energetic cup up by finding things to feel good about, looking for what we (and others) are doing right, and shifting our focus to the light, the more we give love back to life itself, and right now the earth can use more positive ripples in the human pond.
Think of several things you’ve already done well today. You got out of bed. You had some good coffee. You took time to read this and connect with beautiful souls all over the world who are doing the same. Good job!
Love is a vibration. Whether we get there by focusing on things big or small is irrelevant. It ripples outward, nonetheless attracting good into your life and sharing good with the world.
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