Well friends I know it has been a while since I posted, lets just say I have busy about the business of enjoyng life. Having been in school for the past eight years my spare time has often been limited and frequently non-existent. However I have a long weekend coming up and two tutorials to put together for all of you as promised.
First I would like to expound upon, if I may, a piece of philosophy I came across that was an "aha" moment for me. It has everything to do with the idea of attitude and was shared by modern day prophet Oprah Winfrey. Like many things Oprah shares, this was via someone that influenced her, namely Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor.
Dr. Taylor was a Harvard trained brain scientist that experienced a massive stroke at 37 years of age. The stroke robbed her of things like speaking, walking, and working. Despite such a drastic medical mishap she found a newfound sense of purpose and meaning through her now incredibly limited experience of life. I have not yet fully explored her work but one quote stood for me. This quote was placed in Oprah Winfrey's makeup room for her to remember prior to every show.
"You are responsible for the energy you bring into a space"
Plain and simple, if you come in negative and in a poor mood, you are responsible for the negative impact that has on others. Often times we excuse that responsibility because obviously no one else can be having as bad a day as me. Or we feel entitled to the grumping and grousing we are hurling at the world around us.
It's like I have always said about one of my biggest influences Viktor Frankl, if he can enjoy the beauty of a sunset amidst the horrors of Auschewitz, then what do the rest of us have to complain about? Attitude is all about context and what face you choose to present to the world.
At the risk of sounding preachy, we all have a choice in how we react to things in our everyday life. When we choose to react in anger or fear this only breaks down our own spirits, rarely the person we direct it at. When we go in to our place of work, home, or lesiure with a poor attitude it invariably brings down the mood of others in the space.
I believe our grandmothers referred to it as the "bad apple" syndrome. This is not to suggest that any of us are produce, but merely a gentle reminder that we are all in control of the energy we put out into the world and we should all take responsibility for it.
So I challenge you, me, and the world to stop making excuses about our "bad day" and to find our joy in even the littlest things and share it. It can be as simple as recognizing you are in a bad mood, then go and post a joyful quote on your Facebook page.
With disasters like the tornadoes in Joplin Missouri does that person that cut me off or that credit card bill REALLY matter that much?
No they don't
So here's to being intentional about the energy we take with us into the space of others. And if someone is polluting your space with a bunch of ho hum Eeyore misery, my suggestion is that you gently, kindly, but firmly get the hell away from them.
To learn more about Dr. Bolte Taylor head on over here
Love you'uns
DZ
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