~May Your Light Shine :D~

Saturday, September 01, 2007

i have decided that the next time there is something on my mind, i will blog about it and get it off my chest. this not only ensures that i do not incur any chestaches due to bottling up all my feelings, but also i won't have to do 'spring cleaning' everytime i blog (i.e. clear cobwebs that have appeared due to my long leave of absence)

today i just wanna share about the power of positive thinking. this is gonna sound like some inspirational talk or something but i hope you will find this useful.

think about this:
You become who you are not by what happens to you but by your perception of what happens.

Agree?

For example, your parents may treat you well. However if you perceive that they do not love you as much as your sibling, you may well suffer from insecurities and an inferiority complex.

We can often be plagued by negative thoughts throughout the day. However, the way we respond to these thoughts is what separates a victor from a victim.

I am very insecure about certain issues - especially when it comes to friends. When I see my friends treating my other friends nice, I worry that they will like each other more than they like me. I.e. I get jealous. I constantly struggle with this and you could say this is the torn in my flesh, because I really do not enjoy feeling that way.

Thankfully I have learnt to look on the positive side of everything, well almost (still trying to see the positives in me missing the bus 3 times due to the bus company's screw up and being late for 3 appointments, one of them an interview. so far i only know that God was really teaching patience as I probably waited 2 hours in all that day). Anyway, with regards to the issue above, by God's grace I manage to see it as my friends showing Christ's love to my other friend. Instead of getting jealous, I was thankful that they are reaching out to my friend and encouraged them to continue to doing so. If I did not change my attitude, I dare say my friendships with both people would definitely have been hurt.

Another example of positive thinking would be as I was helping this friend when she told me she felt insecure and inferior when her boyfriend told her he admired certain characteristics in other girls. I told her not to feel threatened but to join her boyfriend in admiring what is beautiful, good, pure and noble. I told her that he was in some way encouraging her to become a better person and to see it as a challenge to be more Christ-like. Even if they are things that are simply aesthetically pleasing, there is no reason why she can't admire them too. I believe God created beauty to be admired. I think what her boyfriend told her was very wise:
He asked her to pick a flower at a florist and she did and so did he. Then he asked her if the rest of the flowers which she didn't pick were not beautiful. Cuz not right? Just because we have made our pick, does not mean that the rest are not beautiful and that we can't admire them right? Similarly although they have chosen each other, they can still admire the beauty in others.

The next time you are on the verge of becoming depressed due to negative thinking do try and look on the bright side. If you search hard enough, you will be able to find it eventually. Otherwise come talk to me and I'll help you find that silver lining =D

Lydea blogged at 10:06 PM

May your light shine...
in the darkness...