THE MAGIC THAT WAS REVEALED IN A STAPLER

Have you ever noticed that when you’re in a really good mood you don’t have a lot of thoughts about your SELF?

I know that’s true for me.

When I’m loving life, more often than not, I am just IN life. I am feeling joyous and buoyant and I find that I appreciate things about my world, both big and small, that I hadn’t either appreciated or even noticed before.

The other day, for example, I glanced over at my stapler and smiled realizing that the little holes on the bottom of the stapler formed a happy face smile. What a whimsical good-natured feature to include. And whether purposely designed or not, it doesn’t really matter.

What matters is that in a good mood I am more likely to see the magic in the mundane.

And that goes for every aspect of our lives. Everywhere we look seems to be infused with a little bit of magic when our sense of SELF is not uppermost in our minds.

Now, compare that experience to a typical bad mood experience.

Doesn’t it seem as if our perspective narrows?

In fact, doesn’t it seem as if we become consumed by how life has done us wrong?

We no longer see the magic in the mundane because life becomes singularly focused on our SELVES and how our circumstances or other people have kept us down or how we have somehow failed to measure up.

I know when I’m in a bad mood, life becomes ALL ABOUT ME. And, in fact, we are never more self-absorbed than when we take our bad or low moods seriously and personally. Heck, when I’m in a bad mood the most mundane happenstance can become a tragedy - like toppling a glass of water onto the floor. It is only when I regain my perspective (ah, there’s that word again - and that’s no accident) I can see both the ridiculousness of my imagination and the power it has to make a mood unnecessarily prolonged and often worse.

Now, why does any of this matter?

There is power in recognizing the direction and focus of our thoughts.

There is power in realizing that when our perspective changes our experience changes.

There is power in reflecting on the awesome responsibility we have in creating our experience.

There is power in seeing that when WE are not on our minds, Life seems to flow much easier.

Consider this for yourself in your own life.

Consider taking the time for reflection.

Consider that when you do, Life may just reveal a majesty and mystery and whimsy that was otherwise overlooked.