When it comes to desserts, “free will” isn’t necessarily a blessing.
– Jo Calk
Desserts and Free Will
It Takes 3 Beliefs
It takes 3 beliefs to stub your toe on a rock:
- Your toe is solid.
- The rock is solid.
- Two solid objects cannot pass through each other.
It takes 3 beliefs to not stub your toe in water:
- Your toe is solid.
- Water is liquid, fluid, not solid.
- A solid object passes through a liquid because the liquid moves out of the way of the solid.
It takes 3 beliefs to not stub your toe in the air:
- Your toe is solid.
- Air is gaseous, neither solid nor liquid.
- A solid object easily passes through a gas because the gas moves out of the way of the solid.
It takes 3 beliefs to not stub your toe on a rock:
- Your toe is not solid, it is mostly empty space.
- The rock is not solid, it is mostly empty space.
- Two things that are not solid, but mostly empty space, can easily pass through each other because the atoms just move out of the way of each other.
I have mastered the first 3 sets of 3 beliefs (actually skipped the first set because I had proven that years ago), but am having a bit of difficulty with the fourth set.
I’ve tried the fourth set of 3 beliefs 10 times now. My doctor says I have to wait until those 10 broken toes heal before I can try it again.
That will give me time to work on those last 3 beliefs.
Just a bit of metaphysical humor to lighten your day. 😊
Blessings,
Jo
Spinning Plates
Hello!
One of the acts on the old Ed Sullivan TV show was a man who kept about 16 plates spinning at the top of tall, thin poles. One-by-one, he would start a plate spinning on top of a pole, then move to the next pole. He was constantly checking previous plates and returning to keep them spinning. After some time, all the plates are spinning, and he gets a round of applause from the audience.
I have often used the analogy of “spinning plates” to explain all the work, jobs, and tasks I am trying to keep balanced every day. It seemed to fit my frantic, hectic, chaotic life. It wasn’t until recently that I viewed the spinning plates analogy from a different angle.
From a distance, I see a person taking on a challenge of his own choosing and creation. He pushes himself to take on more and more plates to spin simultaneously. He spends time – sometimes a great amount of time – checking the spinning plates as he adds yet another plate to spin. He is constantly moving, almost frantically, alternating his attention among an ever-increasing number of spinning plates. Eventually, after all that effort and constant movement, all plates are spinning. He has his “Ta-da!” moment and receives his praise. Then, the next moment, all the plates start dropping off and falling. Seen from this perspective, using the spinning plates act as the analogy for my life gives me pause to wonder:
Why?
Why would I take on so many tasks and assignments? Why would I continue to add more tasks when I am frantically moving to balance the tasks I already have? Am I seeking the satisfaction of the “Ta-da!” moment when I have all my tasks going? Am I seeking the praise?
The “Ta-da!” moment is fleeting. While I am taking my bows before an appreciative audience, the tasks are starting to fall/fail. I have exhausted myself in the process and can no longer catch the tasks before they drop. Success – sweet and temporary in this case – comes at a high price: pure exhaustion and the crashing of plates all around me. I look at the broken plates and wonder: What did all of this accomplish? What lasting results did it create? Of what service to others are broken plates?
It’s time for a new analogy, a new approach to my life. Don’t try to be everything to everyone – it’s exhausting, and I end up being of no help to anyone, including myself. Focus on a single large Goal, Dream BIG! Limit the tasks I take on to those that lead me to my Goal, that make my Dream materialize. Distractions, such as being tied to my inbox looking at all the great offers, spending hours on Facebook reading everyone’s post to find the ones that resonate and give me new insights toward my Ultimate Goal, and watching an informative YouTube is great, but becoming distracted by the attraction of the millions of other videos, steals time and does not progress me toward my Goal. Giving in to distractions leads me back to the “spinning plates” mentality, the “shiny object” syndrome, the “squirrel!” chase.
I’m not going to remove these attractions/distractions totally – they provide humor, insights, a break from the routine, and a whole host of other responses and feelings that make life interesting. However, I will not become lost in them, enmeshed in them, and taken off my path toward my one Goal, my true purpose and mission, which requires my full attention, focus, and commitment.
I will no longer see how many plates I can keep spinning – the only purpose of which is to prove that I can. I pick a few of the tasks that are on my path, reimaging my analogy to a “Journey,” a grand venture toward the fulfillment of a Goal much larger than myself. I do not stray from my path, to see trinkets and glitter in the bushes. However, I am rewarded with nuggets of joy, insights, tools, help, and inspiration on my path. I can reach my Goal by focusing on my path – expending much less kinetic, chaotic, spinning energy in the process. The Goal I have is well worth the journey.
“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” – Napoleon Hill
Blessings,
Jo
Now You Don’t, Now You See It
Think your beliefs don’t affect what you see? I once thought that, but no longer.
A friend was driving us to a meeting early on a bright sunny afternoon.
“Look!” she exclaimed, excitedly. “The moon is out!” pointing in a direction ahead of the car.
I looked and looked but couldn’t see a moon anywhere in the clear blue sky. She is not usually a kidder or one who plays jokes on people, so I believed that she saw the moon – so why didn’t I see it? After several more opportunities to see the moon, I became more curious. Is my eyesight really that bad?
Then I remembered a long-held belief I had that the sun and the moon can’t be visible at the same time. Could that belief be wrong? During solar eclipses the moon actually moves between the sun and Earth, so the moon must be able to be seen in the sky on a sunny day during certain phases of the moon.
The next time my friend pointed out the moon, I saw it clearly.
I wonder what other beliefs we have that prevent us from seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, and tasting new things in this world or the universe? How would we know of their existence without someone, who does not hold those beliefs, showing us something new?
There are guides and teachers among us, trying to show us what our beliefs prevent us from experiencing. There are also deceivers and tricksters among us, trying to convince us to release our core beliefs of self-care, self-esteem, and self-reliance, and relinquish our personal power to them. You can recognize the difference by how you feel: Does someone tell you something that inspires you, opens your inner joy? Or does that person place limits on your self-worth and tell you that you need his/her help, guidance, wisdom, or product to survive in this world? Are you opening your heart and mind? Or are you only opening your wallet?
You have within you everything you need to survive – and thrive – in this world. Your beliefs that you are at the mercy of a vengeful or uncaring universe, that you are a victim of circumstances or heredity, and/or that you have no power or control over your own life are preventing you from accessing the knowledge within you. Try taking ownership of your body and your life. Trust that the Force (Star Wars)/God/Source/All That Is/the Universe is supporting you and wants you to succeed. Open your mind to new possibilities that feel lighter and happier. Then you, too, can see the moon where it previously “couldn’t exist” – and so much more of life.
Blessings,
Jo
We Are All Prophets
Hello!
We hear a lot about “self-fulfilling prophecies” when we think the worst, and the worst happens. The belief behind a self-fulfilling prophecy is: you focus on, think about, and/or worry about something so long and so hard that your worst fears actually come true.
How about when we think the best, and the best happens? What about your best dreams and hopes? Could they come true if you put the same amount of focus and thought into them?
You betcha!
We are more accustomed to worrying about a fearful event happening in our lives than we are to dreaming, hoping, wishing, and expecting joyous and happy events. You get what you focus on. Can we start – and continue – to think of a brighter, happier future for ourselves? Can we consciously choose thoughts and actions that lead to that joyful future?
We have trained ourselves to constantly think negatively, so we now have the opportunity to choose to think positively. Let’s turn “self-fulfilling prophecy” into a wonderful outcome, a descriptive term for the way we are joyously living our lives every day.
We are all prophets of our own lives. Let’s prophesize health, abundance, happiness, and joy for ourselves and for others. Let every thought we focus on and every action we take lead toward the goal of self-fulfilling the beneficial prophecy of our choosing.
Blessings,
Jo
