What You See Is What You Choose

In the last post, “What You Choose Is What You Get”, we talked about how we respond to that which is sent our way.

Now, let’s look at what affects the choices we make.  The choices you make, as stated before, are determined by what you first choose to feed.  Are you feeding your wants, the ego-centric part of you, or your needs, the other-centric part of you?  They are both hungry and cry out for feeding.  What you feed affects your view of yourself and the world.

Feeding your wants solely, can lead to a negative view of others and may stem from a negative view of yourself.  This will inevitably restrict your ability to love others, be optimistic, and ultimately to be happy.  How can you love another or others when you don’t love yourself?  “Love thy neighbor as thy self”, Leviticus 19:18.  If you don’t love yourself, see your own value, believe you have purpose, then your neighbor probably doesn’t even want to answer the door.  If what you see is all negative, then you will make negative/wrong choices.

Conversely, if what you see is positive, then you will make positive/right choices.  Train yourself to be aware of your negative thoughts about yourself and others.  Once  you become aware, train yourself to look for a positive, even if you have to fake it at first.  Finding a positive becomes easier when you reduce the feeding of the wants, and feed your needs more.  The more light you let in, the brighter everything will become.  You will even begin to see yourself as a “Shining Star”*

Homework Assignment

The next time you are in a people watching setting, choose someone and tell yourself what you think their story is.  Then review the story.  Was your description of them and their life negative or positive?

If it’s negative, then you probably tell a similar story about yourself to yourself.  If that’s the case, change your emotional diet.

“If you see what needs to be repaired and how to repair it, then you have found a piece of the world that G-d has left for you to complete.  But if you only see what is wrong and how ugly it is, then it is yourself that needs repair.” – Tzvi Freeman

“We all look at the same world, but what we see depends on who we are.”—R’ Isaac of Homil

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau 

 “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” – Willie Nelson

Heart and Soul 

*Earth, Wind, and Fire