I've packed my bags, put stuff in boxes and I'm ready to re-locate.
Though I dream of moving to Nashville to become a better songwriter and bask in the culture of music and though we've fantasized about moving to Arizona or California where we could ride our motorcycles all year long, it's not the kind of re-locating you might think.
The kind of move I'm talking about could appear to be easier than a geographical re-locating, but I feel like it's harder.
I'm talking about how I view life and how I process thoughts. It's along the lines of the glass half empty or full mentality in my earlier blog.
Because I've discovered that I tend to be one of those who sees the glass half empty, I've made a deliberate decision to start changing how I think. I want to re-locate. I want to move from pessimism to optimism. From darkness to light. From sadness to joy. From doubt and fear, to faith.
I'm packing up old thoughts and sending them away. I don't think they actually even qualify for recycling. I think they need to be placed into the incinerator.
Some days I'm tempted to unpack everything I've boxed up. It feels easier to just stay in my comfort zone, even if it's not real comfortable. At least it's familiar.
Moving means having to learn new roads, new patterns, new cultures. That's why it appeals to us sometimes. A sort of 'starting over' in a sense. But starting over can be daunting and then we start wishing for the familiar, even if it was bad.
Learning to see the glass half full requires looking at things from a new perspective. It means realizing that there are at least 2 ways to look at every situation.
Sadness or Joy?
When my Mother fell last June and had to move into an apartment and start eating meals in the main dining area at the retirement home where she lives, I found myself filled with sorrow when I'd leave. I felt so sad for her that she had to go through this stage of life when everything is changing faster than she can manage. I would fight the tears and find myself thinking things like......poor Mother, this is so hard, I wish she didn't have to be in this place.
But as I began to learn to change how I think about everything, I realized it could apply in this situation too. I began to focus on the good things that exist in her life. The fact that she is surrounded by nurses who can care for her and meals provided for her when she doesn't feel up to cooking. There are many others there who are walking the same road and can truly identify with her so she can find others to empathize with her.
Desperation or Inspiration?
I used to dread winter because we couldn't ride our motorcycles and the nights get long when we turn the clocks back. But this year I decided to be proactive. I started getting DVDs from the library and sometimes we spend the evening watching DVDs of the history of our country. I've seen so many stories of how one person made a big difference for either good or bad and that has inspired me.
I've also stocked up on good books to read about improving your life and learning habits/patterns from successful people. The winter is moving quickly this year. Time really doesn't speed up, but our perspective can really move things along.
So as I pack up old thoughts and perspectives and replace them with new patterns and views, I'm finding the landscape to be improving. And though you won't be getting a change of address card from me in the mail any time soon, you might observe a change in my countenance next time you see me. I am re-locating.
