It does seem that our refrigerator always goes out shortly after we move into a new place. So, there we were at Lowe’s last night picking out a refrigerator. I was telling the sales associate that I will never move again! “You know how we always say that?” I laughed, and looked at him.
“No, ma’am, I have never had the privilege.”
The longer we were with him, the more it became apparent that this gentleman may very well be homeless. And there I was lamenting prices of refrigerators and going on about how hard it is to move! Poor me, huh?
It is all in our way of thinking. It’s all in your perspective. Change your perspective, change your life. You can notice all the things wrong with the place you live, or notice all the wonderful things. You can notice all the things you hate about your job, or you can appreciate the work. Two years ago when Doug struggled to find a job because he had been out of work for so long farming, we realized what a privilege it is to have work.
There is a story, that I believe was true, about a woman who became stuck in a walk-in freezer. She was found dead the next day, in a position where it was apparent that she had frozen. Except, the freezer wasn’t on.
Our minds are powerful in making us believe things. If you own illnesses, my cancer, my arthritis, my diabetes, then you have made up your mind that they are apart of you and will never be healed. I am healthy. I am getting stronger. I am thankful that my body gets me up each day! are much more powerful and life changing statements. (Not to mention you might start following day 2 and 3 of this series and heal them up!)
If you start looking around and thinking about all the things you despise about this neighborhood and this house and this job and these people, it will fester, and you will only be able to see more of the negative. It seems it is a natural response for humans to connect by means of sympathy. Notice how you speak. You will notice that most people (I catch myself as well.) will answer a question with a positive and then quickly add a negative. The drive was fine, but the traffic! Oy.
Change your perspective, change your life. This is a powerful way to live your best life.
Today, try and speak only positive words and statements. Gratitude changes everything.
Farmgirl School 
How odd the woman appeared frozen but she was not. Life is certainly what you make it too be. You are what you eat as well as what you think. Be thankful for everything and you will have more to be thankful for. Complain and you will find more to complain about. I have been practicing the law of attraction, etc. for a while now and it certainly does work. I have not watched the news or read newspapers hardly ever in my life and I feel great. The only way I know what is going on is if someone tells first. Once you reprogram your subconscious mind, you can do anything. I am still working on it. 🙂 Take care and thanks for sharing!
You summed it up wonderfully! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you as well.
I am always cautious about these beliefs about illness – my cancer, my arthritis, etc being an invitation to be ill, because it places a heavy burden of guilt – I am ill because I am inviting it in. It is a lesson I have been learning recently – because I have been physically ill, the idea that my thoughts are drawing this to me, makes me feel even worse… so I am to blame? I am certain the concept is true for some but it is not the whole answer.
Life is not always that simple, we get old, we get ill because we are destined to leave the earth eventually. Our home (the body) is our home with a definitive shelf life. Our suffering is part of the lessons we have chosen to learn. After all children get cancer and I am pretty sure a 5 year old child does not want to cling to an illness, babies are born with horrendous problems and some pass away without really living. Others are born with disabilities that they work around all their lives.
I suggest instead, the crux of the matter is how we play our hand with the cards we are given – do we allow our illnesses to reduce our lives? Do we cling to them as a reason for not living fully or do we find that these things arrive in our lives to show us what we really can achieve.
I know at one point, when you are waiting to see if you have something like cancer, the gift of that moment is that suddenly it offers clarity about what is really important. If I have limited time how do I want to spend it. etc. What do I really need etc?
Thank you for your interesting post, it certainly has given me food for thought. Happy New Year.
I certainly meant no disrespect by my post and I hope it didn’t come across wrong. We are humans, and yes, we will get sick, we will move closer to leaving our bodies, and we will get better or we will not. I know so many people whose identity is wrapped up in their illness and they do not even try to improve their life and do nothing but complain when there are things that these folks could do. Many are young enough to try a different approach. But it is certainly no one’s fault when they get cancer or severe illness. I wish you wellness this year!