I have a good feeling about next month.
I'm waiting for October to end. It's been hard.
Still a little less than a week left and it is going slowly.
I'm feeling a lot more hopeful than I have been for a while.
I don't know why, but it's a good feeling. Maybe I shouldn't question it.
That feeling that 'things happen for 'reasons' kind of feeling.
That feeling that it will be okay. That things will work out.
I'd rather believe that than believe that they won't.
Been down that road so many times.
I'd rather be hopeful than feel hopeless.
The more I observe, rather than being caught up in it,
(which is still hard to do) the better I feel.
I feel more in control when I'm merely observing,
but often I forget that I can sit back, away from the effects of it.
I've allowed myself to be affected so much that it's easy to get affected, still.
"What concerns me is not the way things are,
but rather the way people think they are."
-Epictetus
"The more aware we are, the more choices we have.
The less aware, the fewer choices we have."
It's all about enhancing and developing internal and external resources.
And learning to use those resources effectively.
For a long time, I thought things were the way that I thought they were.
But they really aren't that way. They just seemed that way.
"You are influenced more by what you think is so,
than what is actually so."
"Your perceptions of reality do more
to govern your behavior than reality itself."
"When you learn to pay attention,
you create an opportunity
to switch from passive to active awareness."
Most people don't pay enough attention.
They pay attention to the things that aren't helping them.
They pay attention to distractions.
I see this every day. When I'm out everywhere.
I see people paying more attention to their phones than to their kids.
Or to each other, or to their environment.
And guaranteed, they are not paying attention to their thoughts.
I'm due for a break, from the things I've been paying too much attention to.
I stopped watching the news for a long time.
I rarely watch TV anymore. I don't read the newspaper anymore.
What we pay attention to, we feed our energy to.
We can use it or we can waste it, it is our choice.
When I'm on the bus, I look out the window, I look outside.
So many people are on their phones. It's ridiculous.
That is what they choose to make important, their priority.
They are not choosing to pay attention.
They'll walk and look at their phones, walking into things,
even falling down stairs because they are not paying attention.
To what they are doing, to where they are going, etc.
I've never wanted to be that way. Ever.
I chose not to have internet on my phone. I don't use it for that.
Calling and texting. That's it. That's all I need it for.
I don't have to judge people who are always on their phone.
Even when they are being rude. It's literally an addiction.
But all addictions start with a choice, that becomes a habit.
Again, I don't have to judge anyone for the habits they form.
Even the habits that I wouldn't choose for myself.
I've had my own bad habits. I still have habits that I want to break.
"The significant problems we face
cannot be solved with the same level of thinking that created them."
- Albert Einstein.
How are we supposed to change the level of thinking
when we won't pay attention to how we think?
When we start observing things... It blows our minds.
"Really? I've been like that?!"
"Really? Things are like this?! I always thought they were like that!!"
Observing helps us pay attention.
We can observe our own behavior just as we can observe that of others.
We can even see aspects of ourselves in others.
When we are the one who looks out the window, we see things.
When we keep our heads up, we see things.
When we look around, we see things.
When we look inside, we see things.
When I started just looking around, looking around became interesting.
My observations became interesting. I took an interest.
Even looking around when I go for walks.
Otherwise I wouldn't have seen the things I've seen.
I wouldn't have found the things I've found. I would have missed all of that.
I know I ought to pay more attention to things,
but I think I'm paying more attention than I used to. Which is good.
We get to choose what we pay attention to. Time to choose wisely.
I'm waiting for October to end. It's been hard.
Still a little less than a week left and it is going slowly.
I'm feeling a lot more hopeful than I have been for a while.
I don't know why, but it's a good feeling. Maybe I shouldn't question it.
That feeling that 'things happen for 'reasons' kind of feeling.
That feeling that it will be okay. That things will work out.
I'd rather believe that than believe that they won't.
Been down that road so many times.
I'd rather be hopeful than feel hopeless.
The more I observe, rather than being caught up in it,
(which is still hard to do) the better I feel.
I feel more in control when I'm merely observing,
but often I forget that I can sit back, away from the effects of it.
I've allowed myself to be affected so much that it's easy to get affected, still.
"What concerns me is not the way things are,
but rather the way people think they are."
-Epictetus
"The more aware we are, the more choices we have.
The less aware, the fewer choices we have."
It's all about enhancing and developing internal and external resources.
And learning to use those resources effectively.
For a long time, I thought things were the way that I thought they were.
But they really aren't that way. They just seemed that way.
"You are influenced more by what you think is so,
than what is actually so."
"Your perceptions of reality do more
to govern your behavior than reality itself."
"When you learn to pay attention,
you create an opportunity
to switch from passive to active awareness."
Most people don't pay enough attention.
They pay attention to the things that aren't helping them.
They pay attention to distractions.
I see this every day. When I'm out everywhere.
I see people paying more attention to their phones than to their kids.
Or to each other, or to their environment.
And guaranteed, they are not paying attention to their thoughts.
I'm due for a break, from the things I've been paying too much attention to.
I stopped watching the news for a long time.
I rarely watch TV anymore. I don't read the newspaper anymore.
What we pay attention to, we feed our energy to.
We can use it or we can waste it, it is our choice.
When I'm on the bus, I look out the window, I look outside.
So many people are on their phones. It's ridiculous.
That is what they choose to make important, their priority.
They are not choosing to pay attention.
They'll walk and look at their phones, walking into things,
even falling down stairs because they are not paying attention.
To what they are doing, to where they are going, etc.
I've never wanted to be that way. Ever.
I chose not to have internet on my phone. I don't use it for that.
Calling and texting. That's it. That's all I need it for.
I don't have to judge people who are always on their phone.
Even when they are being rude. It's literally an addiction.
But all addictions start with a choice, that becomes a habit.
Again, I don't have to judge anyone for the habits they form.
Even the habits that I wouldn't choose for myself.
I've had my own bad habits. I still have habits that I want to break.
"The significant problems we face
cannot be solved with the same level of thinking that created them."
- Albert Einstein.
How are we supposed to change the level of thinking
when we won't pay attention to how we think?
When we start observing things... It blows our minds.
"Really? I've been like that?!"
"Really? Things are like this?! I always thought they were like that!!"
Observing helps us pay attention.
We can observe our own behavior just as we can observe that of others.
We can even see aspects of ourselves in others.
When we are the one who looks out the window, we see things.
When we keep our heads up, we see things.
When we look around, we see things.
When we look inside, we see things.
When I started just looking around, looking around became interesting.
My observations became interesting. I took an interest.
Even looking around when I go for walks.
Otherwise I wouldn't have seen the things I've seen.
I wouldn't have found the things I've found. I would have missed all of that.
I know I ought to pay more attention to things,
but I think I'm paying more attention than I used to. Which is good.
We get to choose what we pay attention to. Time to choose wisely.
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