Happy Mondays
IT TAKES some of us longer than others to grasp that life doesn’t have to control us. We have within us choices and the most powerful one is the decision on how we perceive any given situation.
Are you victim or victor? Top dog or dogsbody? In abundance or deficit? It can feel as though we are born with a certain disposition or set of gifts instead of deciding to develop them. Sometimes clients say they weren’t born confident as though they are genetically disadvantaged, unable to try new directions and get out of their comfort zone.
I’ve yet to see a newborn high-five the midwife in any delivery room or a DNA or blood test revealing high levels of chutzpah and nerve. We can make excuses and feel we’ve somehow missed the special offer that everyone else knew about and cashed in on. In the end though, everything comes down to what we believe and perceive.
As the Henry Ford quote goes: “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t – you’re right.” We forget to count our blessings, see the silver linings and put things in perspective.
If you want to see the power of positive perception watch the film about eight-year-old Zion Harvey (pictured) on the internet. He is the first boy to be given a double hand transplant, having been an amputee since age two when his hands and feet were removed after contracting life-threatening sepsis.
In an interview this bright and cheery boy says sagely: “Any kid watching this who is going through a tough time – never give up what you’re doing, you’ll get there eventually.” He has achieved his dream of playing baseball, can now dress himself and make a snack from the refrigerator unaided. He says he wants to write to thank the parents who donated their son’s hands to him. There was not a hint of self-pity or a sense that somehow he had been given a bad deal in life; just stoicism and gratitude. A lesson for us all.
So many of us see nothing but catastrophes, defining our lives by our dramas and difficulties instead of rewiring our thought processes to see the good and the gifts.
We are all complicated and sensitive creatures and sometimes losses and life’s knocks take time to heal. New Age-thinking guru Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power Of Now, said: “Above all, the only thing you have to heal is the present thought. Get that right and the whole picture will change into one of harmony and joy.” How reassuring and healing is that!
Good luck to Zion and may his new hands take him to all the places he has ever dreamed of. With his natural power of hope, I think he would get there anyway.