Have you ever created something and felt a positive energy flow through you?  Whenever I write something I am going to share, like this blog, or compose a new song, I can feel a pulse of positive energy in my body.  There is also a flood of endorphins that seem to move through us when we are creating something.

It doesn’t have to be a song or a written piece.  It can be anything really.  Even creating a safe place for someone to talk can make you feel positive energy.  Because we are human, we have the capacity to create in so many ways.  In fact, creating can be a part of our daily routine.

It all has to do with perspective really.  We can choose to think of many daily activities through the lens of creation.  When a person exercises, one is creating a stronger, healthier body.  When a person prays, they are creating a closer relationship to God.  It all has to do with the attitude one chooses to approach each of these things in our lives.

I believe that positive energy exists in each of us, all the time.  But first, it has to be discovered and practiced.  One must have a mindset that opens us up to these possibilities so we can allow ourselves to see our lives in this way.  

Positive thinking creates good things in our lives.  It is not necessary for us to set out to do something specifically to find it.  We essentially find it in our minds and hearts.  Maybe the most important ingredient in finding positive energy is just having an open mind.  An open mind makes  it easier to find many different pathways.  Creation can bring positive energy to a person and positive energy can make it easier to create things.  No matter how you look at it, it’s a win-win. 

I remember, a long time ago, trying to get into the daily practice of meditation.  Some days, I found meditation  to be easy.  But on the days it was difficult, I felt bad and it really disturbed me.  This was causing me to feel inadequate until I read an article about it.  It said, in so many words, that meditation works, even if you feel you are doing it wrong, or don’t even have your heart in it.  The writer compared the daily meditation process like this. Meditation works just like exercising your body.  If you physically exercise daily, it doesn’t matter if you aren’t into it that day.  Your muscles will get stronger even if you don’t feel like doing it. The same goes for meditation and prayer as well.

Daily prayer was easy for me because I was talking to God and didn’t need to clear my mind.  But to think that meditation could have a positive effect even on those days when I just couldn’t clear my mind of intruding thoughts, was mind-boggling to me.  Once I thought of it that way, it changed the way I approached it, and I got better at it.  The pressure was off and I could be free of my self-deprecation.  It took away the doubt that I would never be good at it.

Changing one’s mind can be a force for good in our individual lives.  We can be so stuck in a way of perceiving oneself, and our imperfections, that it can get in the way of improvement in one’s behavior.  I found that revelation to be life-changing.  It was another proof to what I believed to be true.  That positive thinking about anything has power in our lives.  

Once a person can see that a new perspective can have the power to move us forward with confidence, great things can happen.  In meditation, exercise, and other things as well, the doing of something builds confidence and lessens doubt.  This is a lesson I must remind myself of, whenever I focus on the possibility of failure.  Fear of failure is a negative outlook that can never produce the outcome one desires.  Maybe that is something I should meditate on.  

I remember when I was a child, growing up in my family, that it was never okay to make a promise that you could not keep.  We tried to do that with our children too, because it has an enormous impact on the relationship you build with your children.  If you want them to trust what you say you are going to do, you must tell the whole truth, including any conditions.

So, when I was a kid, we always knew that in the summer, our family would go to the lake on Sunday after church, if the weather was clear and rain was not in the forecast.  That just made sense.  Conditions need to be set for some things as to whether they will happen or not.  It is when you say something unequivocally that you are not sure will happen, disappointment can follow and trust can be broken between parent and child.

I could never understand how a person could say that they would do something with their child, unless they were absolutely sure it would happen.  It is far better to say that you are unsure of whether you can do or be there, than to have them be disappointed for no good reason.

As I became an adult, it was always important that I was someone who could be counted on to do what I said I was going to do.  It was not just about being responsible, but also about being honest and considerate.  Just by following the golden rule of treating someone as you would want to be treated, it is the way to build relationships of all kinds, with family, friends, and the people you work with as well. 

If one wants to be a good person, honesty is essential.  Promises are so important.  Don’t make a promise unless you have every intention of keeping it.  Emergencies can happen, but that’s a part of life we can’t control.  Everyone knows that.  My personal goal is to never make a promise that I am not sure I can keep or control.  I know who I can count on to do the same with me.  My intention is to always do my best by being honest and responsible.  And that’s a promise I can keep.

“Waste not, want not” was a saying that I couldn’t understand when I was a kid.  I thought it meant that if you didn’t waste things that you wouldn’t want them.  I didn’t know that “want” could be a noun that meant the lack of something.  Only as I grew older and wiser, did I understand that meaning of this phrase.

Recently, it made me think of how much waste there is and how we often are not aware of how our actions can be the cause of lack in our lives.  I think of the enormous waste of food that I witness in “all you can eat” dining establishments. When I see all the food left on people’s plates as they leave the restaurant, it alarms me.  When I was a kid, my dad would let me order whatever I wanted, but asked me, “Are you going to be able to eat it?”  If it was a food that couldn’t be taken home and eaten later, then, not only would I have felt bad about it, I would probably not be enjoying that privilege for a while.  I can’t remember that happening, because I loved “everything.”

When I lived in California, we went to a Japanese restaurant that was “all you can eat.”  But, they had a policy of charging you for food left on your plate.  So if you wanted to try something new, you could just take a small taste to your table, and then go back if you liked it and wanted more.  I think that it was a good idea.  We never had any trouble with that.  When I see what’s left on people’s plates in restaurants, it makes me mad.  There is no reason to put large amounts of food on your plate and think it’s okay to leave more than you ate.  The “all you can eat” places, will not let you take the food home, which is understandable.  But leaving large amounts of food that will not be eaten is wrong.

My parents grew up during the depression and as a result of that upbringing, we never wasted food.  I loved eating leftovers because my mom was a good cook and everything was just as good the second time around.  I just believe that our country has a throw-away culture and people are often not nearly as grateful for the blessing of being able to eat almost any kind of food we would like to have, anytime of day or night, if we have the money to do so.  In our society, however, this is not true for many of our citizens.  At this time, we need to be mindful of this.  And if we are fortunate enough to have that luxury of regular meals, we should share our resources with others who are not so fortunate.

Being grateful, having the opportunity to help others because we don’t waste, and are not in want, is a privilege and ability not afforded to everyone.  “Waste not, want not” can be more than just a saying, but can also be an adage that calls us to action.  I am going to attempt to do more than I do now, because I can.  If enough of us do the same, hunger will be less prevalent and it could serve as an example of one simple way of “giving back” because we have been so blessed.

For a long time, in my quest to find a topic I wanted to write about, I referred to my LIST.  Subjects that have caught my fancy over the last almost 5 years, are in a file called Blog Topics. Big surprise!  Interestingly enough, I haven’t even referred to my list recently.  Somehow, an issue or an argument has been sneaking into my thoughts over the week before I write my Sunday blog.  I find this astonishing.

When I started to create my blog, I just found something during the week that intrigued me, and I would research and or form an opinion about it.  Then, I found that I needed something to refer to  for inspiration, and decided to start forming a list.  Now there are 423 topics on my list, 245 of which I have written about in a blog.

I think within each of us there is always something to think about, that interests us or even things that nag at us.  Being curious or even needing to know about a subject can be a luxury not easily afforded when raising a family or burdened by any number of things in one’s life.  But, now that I am retired, I find the opportunity to satisfy my thirst for knowledge has opened my mind and heart as well.

So as I sit here and ponder the many possibilities, I think of how grateful I am for the opportunity to share my thoughts and feelings and have anyone interested in what I have to say.  As it turns out, I am being blessed by the feedback and it’s a communication of sorts between me and my audience.

That brings me to the question of the week.  I am hoping that those of you who are following me might consider jotting down topics that interest you in the comments.  It may help me to stir interest in things that might otherwise have never crossed my mind.  It’s just a possibility that has occurred to me while writing my blog.  Please accept my profound gratitude for reading my blog.  I am humbled and honored by your interest.

FYI –  Check out my website for all my published blogs at ramdomrambling.co