What have you done with the garden entrusted to you? –Antonio Machado
Greetings Gentle Reader. For fourteen years I had the privilege of traveling to Singapore and working with some wonderful colleagues. We continue to remain good friends and thought-partners; to me they are my second family. Today I am a better person because of who they are. In 2012 two of them, Mi Yin and Yim Harn, with the support of the good thinking of their colleagues, published a book titled ‘Tending Our Gardens.’ In their book they invite us to engage 31 topics. These topics provide us an opportunity to embrace our personal renewal. This morning I am going to invite you to engage one of their topics: #15: Thoughts and Emotions. Each ‘Reflection’ is followed by two questions.
Thoughts and Emotions. Every day, thousands of thoughts go through our minds: thoughts that are happy, sad, judging, analyzing, worrying, thoughts of the past or the future. Yet in our busyness, we often do not pay much attention to our thoughts. Our minds tend to believe everything they think, so it is important that we are aware of the thoughts that are feeding our minds. Is this thought helping me to get closer to what matters most to me in life? Is this thought keeping me from moving forward?
Consider that behind every emotion lies a thought: when we get angry with someone, it usually starts with an angry thought. Similarly when we are contented and peaceful, we are very likely holding a positive thought. What we think determines how we feel and how we respond to our needs, situations, and others. When we have a life-giving thought, we are more likely to produce responses and outcomes that nourish ourselves and others. Thus the more we are aware of how our thoughts are shaping our lives, the more we can make choices that are life-giving to ourselves and others.
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
- When you pause and pay attention to your thoughts, what do you notice about your thoughts?
- What sort of thoughts and emotions feed your spirit? What sort of thoughts and emotions deplete your spirit? How do you know?
We become our thoughts. –Aristotle
Searcher-Seeker 