In my last article, I talked about how negative thought patterns create ruts in our brains that cause us to automatically “go there” when triggered. I then showed how to rewire our brains and take control of those thoughts. In Part Two, I’m going to take you one step further and show you how practicing gratitude actually creates joy.
Read MoreA threadbare, aqua-colored polka-dot apron. A faded movie theater ticket stub for Avatar in 3D. Two cotton rope bracelets. A program for a multi-day jazz festival. A small suede drawstring handbag with fringe on it.
What do all these things have in common? These items were found when I embarked on a house-wide reorganization/de-cluttering extravaganza. And upon the exhumation of each treasure from its cardboard- box coffin in the Land of Forgotten Stuff --- a/k/a the spare bedroom closet --- I became suffused with joy upon remembering the thing or event it represented:
Read MoreA few years ago, my wife and I were in the front yard of our very first (and current) home. Having moved only a year before to the great state of Florida, home to beaches and theme parks and retired people with golf carts, we stood in awe and gratitude, taking in the moment, with our kids running around the front lawn and the sun setting over the nearby lake and a silver-haired gentleman riding his bike down the sidewalk.
Life was good, but something was missing. At least, according to my wife.
Read MoreIt’s all Norman Rockwell’s fault.
A huge fan of his paintings, I totally blame him for my life’s expectations… unrealistic as they may be. Especially during the holidays. Who doesn’t want that Home for Christmas scene Rockwell depicts? The citizens of Stockbridge, Massachusetts strolling down Kinkade-like lit streets, effortlessly pulling perfect Christmas trees behind them. I can practically hear the occasional, “Evening, Ma’am” from the folks as they pass each other on the street.
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When I run out of fingers and toes, I have a serious problem. Math was never my area of giftedness. Creativity, reading, and writing are my strengths, so when the Scriptures tell us to “count it all joy,” I secretly cringe inside. I’m terrible at math!
This verse has bothered me for years: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds….” (James 1:2 NIV)
The idea of counting everything in life as an opportunity for joy seems over-the-top, pie-in-the-sky type thinking. You’d have to be blind not to see that life is not always joy-filled.
Read MoreOnce there were five-year-old twin boys, one a pessimist and the other an optimist. Wondering how two boys who seemed so alike could be so different, their parents took them to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist took the pessimist to a room piled high with new toys, expecting the boy to be thrilled, but instead he burst into tears.
Puzzled, the psychiatrist asked, “Don’t you want to play with these toys?” “Yes,” the little boy bawled, “but if I did, I’d only break them.”
Next the psychiatrist took the optimist to a room piled high with horse manure. The boy yelped with delight, clambered to the top of the pile, and joyfully dug out scoop after scoop, tossing the manure into the air with glee. “What on earth are you doing?” the psychiatrist asked.
“Well,” said the boy, beaming, “There’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”
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