As the Balloon Naturally Drifts Upwards
Bright Reflections on the Value of Positivity
This short challenge piece weaves nicely with what I have been pondering lately.
How easy it is to get bogged down by negative and toxic thoughts or moods. This can even happen to naturally positive people. (Actually, positive people may be especially troubled by negative internal currents because when you are higher up the further you can be pulled down). As someone who has been identified by many to have a naturally positive disposition(I would say everyone has very positive moments every day), it is surprising to see how negative my thoughts can be.
“Oh, how could I have been so horrible to have committed that action decades ago. It ruined the course of my whole life.”
“Why do these people never seem interested in me yet they are interested in others closest to me? Like they are so excited by so-and-so’s successes but not by mine at all.”
“Why didn't anyone react to my Facebook post about getting sick Did they just not see it or do people not notice me much?”
Wow, the crazy way our minds work!
Don’t get me wrong, critical thoughts or tough emotions are not bad in themselves. Sadness or anger are mental and spiritual responses to things recognized as off-kilter or harmful. When channeled properly, they become powerful positive forces for good.
However, if the thoughts, emotions, or actions become overly negative or off-kilter, they become burdens that weigh us down. How does this help anything at all?
Recently I heard of the image of people in a hot-air balloon, floating freely in the open sky. If the riders pump warm air into the balloon, it will rise slightly higher and keep moving. But if they pull on the basket ropes or make too many excessive movements, it can pull the balloon down or throw it off course. Our thoughts, words, and actions can be the same.
Considering how many bad experiences or low points are made worse by the cycle of circulating negative thoughts or feelings is shocking. Yet it is also wonderful to consider how much positive thoughts, words, and actions transform our disposition.
There is a proverb that is often attributed to Rumi: “Two reeds drink from the same stream. One is hollow, the other is sugarcane.” So often, when there is an unlimited array of richness and beauty, our minds and hearts automatically focus on the hollow.
Say there is a wide bed of beautiful flowers, each patch blooming in multiple colors. They stand tall and sprout wide, with not one that will fail to reach fruition. Rather than savor the sights and smells of the countless flowers, we often might just find ourselves honing in on the small weeds that may be starting to form under some flowers’ shade. Or, we agonize over why certain flowers aren’t taller even after they have grown to record heights.
This is when we can remember to adjust to the sugar cane straw. Such moments can be challenges for us to redirect our minds and hearts to bright, positive energy that elevates us.
My, how the winds change when I rebalance and refocus. Just forming positive counterparts to those random thoughts that may flow through my head.
Look at all the positive and good things I have done over the years. Some of my best actions have made a lasting (and sometimes life-changing) impact.
By the way, I have done quite a few things quite well to have made it this far. And I’m just getting started.
Look at how many people are genuinely interested in my life and consistently care. When I make a list of those people it stretches out into hundreds and thousands. I pray everyone can see how many countless other souls love them.
I was so blessed to recover so quickly from my recent illness. Thanks to the Divine for healing and thanks to the countless people, known and unknown, who offered prayers for my health and well-being.
How blessed I am. How blessed each of us is. We can certainly learn to see the glass as half full or half empty. We can also train ourselves to see the stream as hollow or as sugar cane. The eyes that recognize the sugar cane recognize the glass as overflowing.
