How Full is Your Basket

Ashes Sitoula @awesome

How full is your basket? Recently I was having one of my low moments and I realized that all the things I was concerned about does not identify who I am.  Therefore, I decided to put my thoughts in a mental basket and allow myself to see that what’s in the basket does not define who I am, but it’s a part of who I am.  We need to stop making hasty decisions based on one feeling, one incident, or one wrong turn.  A lot of what we are experiencing is caused by our anxiety, our failures, our hopes and dreams, or our past mistakes.  It’s okay to allow those feelings to go through your body as long as you don’t stay in that place.

With the excitement and the pressure that the New Year brings most of us feel that this is a great time to start new projects.  But not necessarily!  Don’t get caught up in the New Year, New You phenomenon. For most people this should be a time of reflection on what worked, what did not work, and the changes we need to make moving forward.  When you look at your basket you need to be able to see it as something outside of you and not see it as you.  When I gathered my thoughts and concerns and put them in my basket, I must say that my basket was full.  However the great thing about that was, I was able to separate the basket from me.  I could look at it when I needed to or felt like looking at it.  I could also leave it sitting there altogether.  I could add items as they came to mind, and that in itself removed the thought or concern from the immediate forefront of my mind.  It’s almost like writing down what needs to get done.  Once you release it on paper you are no longer bound by your thoughts.  So, is your basket full?  If it is then that’s a good thing. It simply means that you have transferred your thoughts to a place outside yourself where you can deal with them at your leisure.

Mind What You Think

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Mind what you think!  All of us have probably heard the saying, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” and to go even further, we’ve also heard, “As a man thinketh, so is he.” What does those two statements mean to the average person?  To some it means absolutely nothing.  When you look at the current state of affairs we know that so many minds are wasted.  We also know that there are numerous people who never speak life to their situation.  Doom and gloom is the word of the day.  Their surroundings enforce it.  Their home environment confirms it, and their lifestyle adds the icing to the cake.  Why do some people hear these statements and grasp them right away, and others turn a blind eye to what’s right in front of them?  How is it that two people can be from the same side of the track, yet one make it out and another gets trapped in the madness?  Why?  I don’t have concrete answers, but I would suffice it to say from my own experience that it’s mind over matter.  We have to not only use our minds for good, but we also have to mind what we think.  A thought is energy that starts the process of reality.  Therefore it is extremely important that we take our own thoughts captive.  We often ask God to do that, but it’s also up to us to capture our thoughts as well.  Learn how to reign your thoughts in when you feel them taking an avenue that is not becoming to you and your character.  Listen to that little voice inside of you that knows right from wrong.  No one should have to call you on the carpet for doing something foolish.  You already know!