Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Getting Into The Swing Of Things & The Story Of Two Wolves

30 Day Blogging Challenge

Talk Tuesday!
How hard is it for you to get back into the swing of things after a long weekend?

I think it is a little easier if the extended day is Friday, like it was here in Canada... Having a Monday off is still wonderful, but I find it throws things off for me... but that could also be the end of the school year as well. Summer holidays have started for the children so I am without daily supply calls. I only supplied half a day last week. My summer routine has not yet taken hold and Life has got a little quieter -- and it is harder to remember what day it is. Not a problem unless you have a doctor's appointment and have to be somewhere at a specific time. As it is I am feeling a little foggy this morning. It is hard to concentrate... but that could also be the heat. Today will have a humidex of 35 Celcius, I heard... a far cry from Canada Day's barely 20 degrees Celsius with chilly damp, rainy breezes.

Hope everyone transitions back okay today.

Love Louder - Amplifying My Life

I have decided as part of my blog to comment on each of Preston Smiles's ways to Love Louder. He has written an intriguing little book or 33 Ways To Amplify Your Life. The full title is Love Louder: 33 Ways To Amplify Your Life.

Day 7 - The Story of Two Wolves

A Cherokee elder told his grandchildren, "There is a fight going on inside me. It's a terrible fight! And it's between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, and resentment. The other wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, and kindness. This same fight is going on inside of you and every other person too."
The children ask, "But Grandfather, which wolf will win?"
After a pause, he tells them, "The one I feed."

I love this story. I have heard it before. So the question is which wolf are you feeding?

We, as humans, tend to lean towards the more negative... Preston Smiles believes this is because we are hardwired, from caveman days, to notice and pay more attention to potential threats than positive thoughts. "Paying attention to the negative is what allowed us to survive as a species."

To solve this he suggests turning to gratitude to turn your negative thoughts into positive ones. As soon as a negative thought comes up, you redirect it to a thought about something you are grateful for... this allows you to train your brain to look for the good in every situation and not to identify with the negative. It is important to remember that "our thoughts are not facts and that we always have a choice of what to focus on." Our job is to be an observer of our thoughts and to consciously choose which one to accept and which ones to push away.

#LOVELOUDERCHALLENGE
1.Be an observer of your thoughts this week. Pay attention to patterns in your thoughts and what continually comes up.
2.Direct your thoughts into something you do want to think about... consciously feeding the wolf of love. Put a positive spin on your thoughts. Gratitude is the easiest place to start as we can all find something to be grateful for.... even if it just being alive in that moment.

So instead of "I'm broke. I can't pay my bills."... redirect it to: "I may not have all the money I would like to have right now, but I'm blessed to have the opportunity to create it."

"Night is coming. It's not what happens, it's what you do about what happens. The challenge is to do different things with the same circumstances. You can't get rid of the night, but you can buy a blanket, go indoors, or start a fire. Are you prepared?"

Make the best of any situation, whether it is good or bad. The situation itself is not good or bad... that is just our perception of it... how are you going to interpret it and what are you going to do about it?