BRAIN FREEZE

Focus and attention seems to be something everyone claims to lack the ability to do. If you ask 100 people 99 will tell you that they have some sort of attention disorder. I would agree that there is some semblance of truth because I too struggle to stay focused most of the time. I create reminders with my phone, alerts from my ipad, I carry notes in my pocket, jot things down on my legal pad, write on my hand, and heaven forbid I simply try to remember with my old brain. Regardless how many actions I take to stay focused I still seem to fall miserably short. Does this sound familiar?

I have decided with my non-professional brain that our lives have gotten way to busy. Before you shout out "HELL YEA" mine is way to busy too, slow down just a minute. Tangible actions are simple choices. When asked to do something it should be yes or no, RIGHT? When we finally admit to ourselves what others already know and that is that MAYBE really means NO we will have a small victory. Make no a bigger part of your choices when it comes to committing more to your already full calendar. You know all this, I am just reminding you.

 All of that said what I really mean by a busy life is that many of us face a busy mind spinning so fast it spits out information before it has been processed. Why are our minds so busy? Listen up because this is the wisdom nugget in today's reflection. Our minds are running scared because of our focus on yesterday's problems. We made a mistake, a bad choice, lost some money, hurt someone we love, blew an opportunity, lied to a friend, etc. All of these human actions stifle who we can be because our mind is telling us what society has trained it say we really are. Give thought to that for a moment. All of those past trials I just listed when it happens to us by others we stand firm on our judgement against them. That trains our brain to hold ourselves hostage for life when we too fall short. How we treat others has a huge impact on how we will ultimately treat ourselves. 

Please do not misunderstand I am not saying life does not or should not have consequences. We all need rules and laws that keep us safe and somewhat orderly. You know what I am talking about. We all, yes you, make mistakes on a daily basis that we truly expect others to either ignore, forgive, or help us get past. If we had that same expectation of self when others fall short our minds would not be telling us constantly to look over our shoulder because trouble is near. 

I can't even begin to imagine what we could all accomplish if we could simply learn to forgive others which in turn will help us forgive ourselves. We try to destroy a person that trespasses against us yet we fully expect people to forgive us for the exact same actions. All of this adds up to a mind that is running wild with no place to go. 

For those readers out there that follow Christianity where did you miss it or did you not learn it? Jesus did not take the highest ranking leaders of the time and make them his apostles. Heck he didn't even take the scholars, business owners, religious clergy, judges, or government workers. Jesus took people that were laborers, heathens, people with low self esteem, and in Paul's case he even took a man so vicious the rest of the world was terrified of him. Basically Jesus took normal people like you and me that had a past they too were running from. He taught them how to love and forgive. That was it, he taught them how to love and forgive. Even those that are not Christian or are just seeking a spiritual grounding there is a wise lesson in this. 

If you desire to get some sort of control on your already out of control brain start this little exercise. STOP being the know it all judge jury and executioner to everyone around you. Until you walk with perfection do not expect others too. In this life we were given a mind to use to make us and the world around us better. The only way to do that is make mistakes, take action, step out on the edge, tread where others fear, and do it without fear of failure. 

Peace is about being who we really are not what others have made us to be. Let's focus our attention on getting our brain running in a positive direction instead of spinning out of control in every direction. I will close with some wise words. You were not born to judge you were born to accomplish, in order to accomplish you must first accept that which you are not. You are not the judge of the world you are simply you. In order to be the best version of you, you must allow others the same freedoms you allow yourself.

peace to you

Dale