Hold that thought!

Our thoughts create worlds. As the stoic Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said, “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” 

Yesterday, when I googled images for “thoughts create reality,” my screen filled up with numerous variations on this quote, from the classic to the sarcastic, with silly memes and New Age motivational posters galore.

Only this morning I came across this gem from the 19th century Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda:

“Everything in the world is good, is holy and beautiful. If you see something evil, think that you do not understand it in the right light. Throw the burden on yourselves!”

The burden in on ourselves. We have impressionable minds and are responsible for our actions. We can be the denizens of a beautiful, caring world based on love or we can breed fear, hate and sadness simply by focusing our minds on love or hate.  

Deep down I believe everything in the world is holy and beautiful, but current political, environmental and social issues all point to desecration of our world. You may wonder: How do I connect to my innermost desire to hold fast to beauty all around, without abstaining from the news? How do I communicate my belief in divine reality without sounding like a Pollyanna?

It’s definitely an eternal lesson, one that will not be absorbed overnight.

In practice we can listen to rants, to complaints, to negativity and respond with what we find useful or beautiful and convey that in the moment. And we can start today.

Be careful...by making a habit of holding the thought “all is good, holy and beautiful,” you may find yourself smiling more. Focusing on something to appreciate in the bad news (no matter how small) may lighten your step. You may find yourself laughing more, hugging more, and having more energy in general.

And if you forget, if you rant and complain, the tone you hear will strike you as completely off and unreal. Just apologize, forgive yourself and gently start again.