“I’m interested in memory because it’s a filter through which we see our lives, and because it’s foggy and obscure, the opportunities for self-deception are there. In the end, as a writer, I’m more interested in what people tell themselves happened rather than what actually happened.”
~Kazuo Ishiguro, 20th-Century British novelist
We all have a story. Some of us even have several. Some keep their story to themself. Others relish the retelling of it at any chance. But the truth is that even having a story at all is enough. It is enough to change the direction of our life on a day to day basis. The story makes our connections for us, choses or friends and lovers, leads us to certain jobs and journeys.
There once was a girl who did everything differently. She never lived up to anyone’s expectations and she was always treated as an outcast, a weirdo. Her overly sensitive ways made her an annoyance, or a laughing stock, to nearly everyone that she met and she could do nothing satisfactorily, because she was one of those unfocused, creative types who drop things once they start them and will never achieve any type of success in life.
So, there it is…the story of my life as told by the nagging little pessimist inside my head. It has been my script for decades, a part that I dutifully played and played well. Every relationship in my life, friend or foe, lover or coworker has either begun or ended somewhere along this plot line, which means that the story as told must be true, right? Well, not necessarily.
The mind is a tricky device, kind of like the hall of mirrors at a carnival. Each distorts your vision in a different way and yet each appears so very, very real. The only eyes that we have in this world, and the only mind we have for perceiving, is our own. We can never see or think as another person does, so we can scarcely guess at how they may or may not see us, or the myriad thoughts that may be running through their head at a given moment. This means that each of us is, necessarily, me-centric. It is impossible to be anything else. All that goes on around us must be about us, or caused by us or happening to us. No, need to ask, “is it me?” because of course it is! At least, it is to you.
The Universe, our source, our creator, is a funny thing. It thinks in pictures, creates in energy. It also seeks always to increase, thus is gives you whatever it believes you are asking for. In creation, in the universe, all things are possible. So, in order to deliver you your most desired reality, the source of creation constantly sends to you situations and scenarios that prove to you that your version of reality is right, is correct and true. This is why your story gets reinforced in your life and your reality. But, this also means that you can choose to have your story and your life unfold differently.
Don’t believe that you are at the mercy of your version of reality? Mayhaps you cannot see any evidence of it in your own life. But, I am certain you can see it more readily in the lives of others. (Somehow patterns are much more stark when they are not your own.) Think of that friend who always attracts that kind of guy. Or the cousin who constantly sees themself being victimized by circumstances. Or the neighbour who continually loses their employment in the same exact way every time. It can even be as small as constantly overeating the same food.
Now can you see it?
Think of the last time you … Continue reading →
