I have a dear friend that I meet with weekly. We spend those moments talking about life issues. My friend and I started talking weekly when I was exploring my career options because I thought at the time that I wanted to return to work but I wanted to go in a new direction. My friend was able to use her gifts as a life coach to help me explore my choices. I had the rare chance to talk with someone who I could bounce ideas off of and get feedback. What I discovered was that life and what we choose to do is like a gift wrapped inside many boxes. As you unwrap each box you learn a bit more about yourself and what you are to do next. What you often learn is that what you thought you were looking for isn’t what you really need or you want. What you are to do is often hidden and often takes some unearthing to find.
In the unwrapping there wasn’t a job hidden away in one of the boxes but, there has been something even more valuable that I have found. I have had the chance to look at myself and my life’s choices and my direction and appraise where I am at. In the solitary moments of my day, I often find myself examining what I believe and about the new truths that have come to light as I unwrap a box. I came to the realization that if I could retire I would. I then chose to invest myself in things that matter to me and bring life to my heart and to my soul. That choice has been a wonderful blessing and time in my life so far. I often think of something my father said once when he retired, “I am busier now then when I was working.” The other appraisal I made has to do with how I view my life. My values and what I believe when no one is around and the lights are out and I am by myself. As I have spent time with myself, I have questioned a lot of those things I once believed and believing many of those things but wanting more to looked beyond the surface of those beliefs . Attempting to understand the back story or history of those beliefs and things that interest me. While I was not much of a reader growing up or even while in college, I have come to enjoy reading books that help answer my many questions. What I have discovered is there is a wealth of insight and truth in the books I have read and have added to my understanding of the world.
A few weeks ago, I was sharing with my friend how I felt when someone I know has continued to act as “the boss” and that this same person had an important conversation with another person that involved me and I was never asked for my thoughts. I was asking my friend her thoughts as to why do some people feel the need to be “the boss” or think it is ok to talk about someone when the issue does not involve them.
My friend explained to me that the issue has to do with control or the need to be in control. She went on to tell me that this need comes from a “mindset” and we all have a mindset that we operate out of. Interesting, I thought. Tell me more. She when on to explain that there are whole books written on the topic of our mindset. But, the main point she made was this that there are two mindsets. There is the mindset of fear and the other mindset was based on abundance. The fear mindset acts out of you guessed it, fear and therefore wants to be in control of things. The person with the mindset of abundance sees and acts out of a knowing that what happens good or bad it will be ok and that person also realizes they have enough skills and talents to make it work out and even if that isn’t actually true at the moment. The person with the abundance mindset also knows failure is a chance to learn.
Perhaps it is my age or how I choose to look at the world. I want to wake up each day with the mindset of abundance and not one that lives and acts in fear. What would we be able to do in the world if we choose to live life in the mindset of abundance? The truth is our creator has given us more then we’ll ever need or can use in this life time. So, why not give some of it away to make our world a better place.
3-29-24
Thoughts? E-mail: francisearly@francisearly.com
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