Mother Love

motherhood + home + family

HAPPINESS TODAY

It’s no secret that our world is obsessed with negativity.

From the news to celebrity gossip to our own hearts and minds, we can suddenly become inundated with all the wrong things and thoughts if we’re not careful. I used to be a big news junkie, and whenever I was around a television, I could literally sit and watch the news for hours. But these days, I will literally have no idea what’s going on around the world or even in our country sometimes. I rarely watch or read the news, and while I’m not definitely not saying that no one should be interested in world happenings, I’ve just found it’s better for my own state of well-being to let all that information out of my mind. I’m more the lets-bury-our-head-in-the-sand-and-everything-will-be-just-fine kind of person, and obviously if we were all that like, we would have massive problems, so if you are a newsy person, do carry on.

But really…if you ever do stop and think about how much we are surrounded by negativity, it’s pretty overwhelming. A while ago, I made a conscious effort to curb all the complaining that was escaping from my mouth, and I can honestly say that it has made a huge difference for me since then. Obviously, negative comments still slip out (it’s so cold! my coffee’s not hot! i have nothing to wear!), but I’m well-aware of them now and make an effort to correct myself.

We’re still in the throes of winter here in New York, and I think that this time of year more than any other time is the easiest to be negative and uninspired. The arctic chills seem to never end and spring still feels like it could be a long way off, and you just want to find yourself on a beach somewhere with the sunshine and a cold drink. So in effort to combat those winter blues, let’s focus on good things.

Here’s a list of things making me happy today::

+ homemade cinnamon rolls
+ reading Psalms
+ clean sheets that smell like lavender
+ lunch time kisses
+ macarons from my favorite bakery
+ baby kicks and squirms
+ quiet days at home
+ using up leftover food
+ our weekend plans
+ hot coffee
+ checking things off my list
+ listening to this
+ the promise that spring and warmth will come

What about you: what are some things making you happy today? 

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

WHAT DO YOU THINK

I think a lot.

We all do. We think because that’s how our brain and minds are created, and if you don’t have any thoughts than you are probably dead. We have to think. We need to think. And have you ever stopped and thought (haha) about how many thoughts go through your head in any given minute? According to the people who sit around and figure this stuff out, the average person thinks around forty eight thoughts per minute, which adds up to seventy thousand thoughts per day. Seventy thousand thoughts per day. That, my dears, is a whole lot of thoughts going on.

I used to try this thing when I was younger to see if it was possible to be awake and not think anything. Was it possible to just think nothing??? I would sit and try this, but the harder I tried, the more I thought about not thinking and thus the more I thought. It made my brain hurt and finally I concluded that it was virtually impossible for me to not think.

I daresay that thoughts are one of the single most powerful driving forces in our life.

I was getting ready for church last week, and this is when these thoughts about thoughts popped into my head. Because my thoughts at that moment were a wreck…as there I was standing in front of the mirror endlessly critiquing myself for the way I looked (or felt i looked) and the way my hair was so dorky and why in the world won’t this random rash underneath my eye go away and stop making me look so haggard and tired? All I could think was how big and large and horribly unattractive I looked, and not necessarily because I’m pregnant, but because that is my particular battleground in general. Those were my thoughts and they felt so endlessly true.

And then in the midst of it came this sweet word quietly rolling into the mess of my heart and if it is possible to change in an instant, I believe that I did.

As you think in your heart, so are you.

I was thinking all these negative things about myself, and what it was literally doing to my perception was making me all those things. Because I thought I was huge and unattractive, that’s what I saw in the mirror. My thoughts were completely screwing up my perception of reality.

I’m not some happy-go-lucky guru who thinks you just need to think happy thoughts and burn incense and drink herbal tea in organic linen clothes to have a great life and never experience any problems or issues…it’s not like that. But I am absolutely convinced that the thoughts I let into my head about myself or someone else or a situation directly influences my perception of what is real. If I think negatively about myself, whether it’s about my body or my personality or whatever, I truly do become that in my mind. Thoughts obviously can’t change what really is true about me…but they change what I believe is true about me.

If I think I’m fat, I see fat.
If I think I’m ugly, I see ugly.
If I think I am dull and stupid, I will see dull and stupid.

But if I think that I am marvelously created, I will see a marvelous creation.
If I think I’m beautiful, I will see beautiful.
If I think that I have a life that has value and much to offer, I am able to engage my world and care for people in ways I never thought possible.

My thoughts are powerful. So what am I thinking?

What about you: how do you find your thoughts influencing your feelings and perceptions about yourself? How do you take control of them?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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