“I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there.” - Mother Theresa
Mother Theresa’s quote is an example of the difference between negative and positive action choices. Instead of choosing to participate in being against things, participate in being for the opposite. Give power to what you are for, not what you're against. The same can be translated into the way we think. In this post I am going to explore this idea with respect to honesty.
Growing up (and to this day) my mom would always get bugged for seeing the world through rose coloured glasses. Think of the song by Blue Rodeo. Imagine someone did something bad and everyone was talking about how bad they were and then my mom would interject with a possible reason for why it could have happened or how so and so was just human. There was this idea that there was reality and then there was my mom’s reality. I’ll admit that I too would join the anti-rose coloured glasses bandwagon most of the time. Taking a step back and seeing how this aligns with the law of attraction, I believe she is, and probably has been, maybe without even knowing it, on to something powerful. When we choose to see things as we hope they will be, we are giving power to a positive outcome in stead of feeding an already perpetuating negative outcome. You may think this is airy, spiritual nonsense, but if you ever have the opportunity to sit down with my mom, hear her stories and witness the blessings in her life, she is nothing short of amazing.
The question I asked myself is this: Is the idea of looking at things through rose coloured glasses really being honest? Looking at something that is inherently wrong and declaring it right would not be honest, but perhaps looking at something inherently wrong and applying grace and hope
to it is being honest.
“If you truly want honesty, don't ask questions you don't really want the answer to” – Burmese Proverb
This quote makes me think of choosing to be a mushroom. You might be afraid of criticism or praise, so you stay in the dark. I like to think that what other people think of me is none of my business. I’ve done some great things and some not-so-great things in my life. I’ve made some people’s lives better and some worse. This is probably true for everyone. It’s the human side of being human. If I don’t ask, I don’t care (of course, this only always applies to negative feedback. Feel free to tell me I’m awesome whenever). Anyway, along this train of thought, I want to explore the idea of honesty as a rule of always saying what you think or feel. Divulging both like and dislike. Whoever said “honesty is the best policy” probably had good intentions, but never met someone that didn’t like them. If most people wanted to know what everyone thought of them and asked them to tell them their honest opinion, honesty as a best policy would be abolished. In consideration of the law of attraction (this works for positive and negative things) and adopting an attitude of choosing confidence over insecurity (caring what people think of you or feeding off attention), the first side of honesty (the one that acknowledges the things we like) will be dominant over the side. If the law of attraction stands true, the negative side of honesty will starve out. Good attracts good and bad attracts bad. That’s why some tables at a coffee shop are filled with conversation that make people smile and laugh and and some tables are filled with gossip that cause tense faces and closed body language. It’s not that either table is being more honest than the other, it’s just that each table is choosing a different side of honesty.
When considering happiness and the attitude I want for my life, I don't feel like I have to compromise honesty to like and be liked, I just have to chose which side of honesty I'll give power to.
I love this Travis, yes your Mom is an amazing woman! She is so positive, kind, caring, concerned about others, compassionate and on and on. To be around her is to be blessed. I think that is why my mother loved your mother so much and could relate to your Mom. She exudes and radiates a positive spirit. You have indeed been blessed with a very special Mom. We could all take a page from your Mother's example as quite often many of us always see the glass as half empty rather than half full.
ReplyDeleteCousin Rich