Positive Thinking - You Are What You Think

I KNOW it's quite difficult to think positive when you have a dollar in your wallet, a flat tyre in the middle of the night on a lonely stretch of highway, your child's sick and you are beside yourself with worry, or you are bypassed for promotion again despite the fact that you have worked yourself to the bone.
But taking into consideration all that have happened to you, all the more you should conjure some positive thoughts because money can always be earned and found; a flat tyre can be re-inflated or mended; a child's ailment can be treated; being promoted may bring longer hours in the office, etc.
So like we say out here in the Far East, good luck can also mean bad luck, depending on which way the horse runs. To cut a long parable short, one day a man found a tame horse loitering around in his orchard. Like all ordinary blokes, he thought "wow, what a lucky break. A horse for free."
So he led the horse to his barn, washed it, fed it and later put a saddle on its back. As he rode the horse across the field, a wild rabbit scurried across its path, startling it. The horse leapt and then bolted in a different direction. Our man hung on to the reins for his dear life. About a hundred yards later, the runaway horse keeled over because one of its legs sank into a ditch. The rider toppled over and broke both legs.
That's the moral of the story. What is considered as lucky for you, may in the end turned out to be your predicament.
So the wise man neither takes stock of the so-called good or imagined bad. Everything happens as it happens. It does not matter what it is. Everything "bad" can be seen in a totally good light. Many a life has been changed for the better because the person experiencing it sees only good things emanating from it.
We are all creatures of the earth. When our bodies have run its course, it will expired. That's when we die. In the meantime, we try and get the best results from a fragile life form.
Those who see only the best in themselves and others will transformed their imagined reality into actual reality for themselvs. If we do not hold fast to everything we consider our own, we will never be disappointed. Everything we see and touch are not ours to have and to hold.
Buddha is right. If we do not form attachment to impermanent objects or forms, there will be on unhappiness.
Everything, I mean everything, can be see in a positive light. The power of choice is ours. Nobody can make us see the bad sight if we do not want to see it so.
A lot of things have taken place in my life which I have not taken to heart. For example, about 20 years ago, I volunteered to work in another State. At first, there was some apprehension as to what I was getting myself into. My colleagues thought it was "the end" for me.
However, my years from the headquarters turned out to be the best working years of my life. Till today, I get nostalgic over those wonderful years when the office staff were so much smaller than the head office. My male colleagues became closer to me than my brother.
We were hundreds of miles away from the head office and we were delirious with joy because there was no boss to breathe down our necks. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. Everyday when I wake up, I look forward to going to office because it wasn't like work, it was more like a holiday camp.
Positive thinking can also be applied to qigong, tai chi or anyone of the martial arts that are being practised. Take for example, a man who excels in a particular martial art. He is constantly worrying about his family and other unimportant matters.
When this person who is harbouring all those worrying thoughts exercise, how much do you think he's going to gain from the automated physical exercises? My guess is very little benefit will he derive from the morning or evening exercise sessions.
That's because he worries too much. Worry is like dirt thrown into your wok as you cook. It is a substance that you don't need. On the other hand, positive thoughts are like the garnishings you add to an already marvellous dish.
The person who constantly entertains positive thoughts carries with him a self-generated battery. He does not get angry. His mind is always sharp and he's in touch with the universe.
There's nothing to lose from thinking positively. When you don't have anything else to lose, and you lose hope as well, you have truly lost everything. You must make positive thinking part of your personal armoury. It is the shield you need when the spears of criticism and bad talk come in your direction.
Positive thoughts strengthens the human resolve, brighten the darkened corners of your mind and rejuvenates a tired body after a long, hard day in the office. Smile if you must but never give up. Don't kill yourself with worry. It does nothing for you except bury yourself in the graveyard of personal distress.
Tell yourself every minute of everyday that you are "better than ever". That's my standard answer when people come up to me and ask "How are you today?" I shock them with my energetic reply. Most of the time, they laugh but at the back of their mind, I know they envy me because I see the beautiful flowers out there in the fields and smell the roses in someone else's garden.
Life is not meant to be treated with gloomy thoughts nor should it considered a slow walk down purgatory. Heaven is here, there's no other place. Remember that always with all the right reasons, and heaven will open its doors wide, just for you.