Keith Lightfoot Blogosphere

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get caught up in the things that go wrong?

It is hard to be mindful of how well your other three tyres are performing when you suddenly have a puncture in one. On occasions we even allow ourselves to dwell on the things that have not yet happened, but might go wrong.

I hear people complaining all the time about their life, their kids, their spouse, their car, their health, their house, their job, their clothes, their weight, their voice, their friends, their hair, their feet and their faith.

Some people say “they got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning”, I am just pleased to get out of “any side of the bed” every morning!

There is a famous saying … “Never complain about what you permit!”
Either fix it, by changing yourself (the most likely cause for your complaints) or by changing your circumstances!

You get one shot at this brief time on earth, just one short burst of human existence.
Despite what some people tell me, I have seen no evidence of anyone having another go, in the same human form, or as a snail, a dog, a bird or a unicorn.

I believe that when you are dead and gone on this earth, you are dead and gone! That’s it!
(Where you go after you die and why, is a whole other subject).

Whatever you thought was important, the colour of your teeth, the shape of your bum, the size of your house, the size of your car, the colour of your skin or the size of your nose, is now completely and absolutely of no consequence to you, or anyone else.

As I drove through the streets of the city early this morning, I glanced at the bedroom lights of the semi darkened houses and wondered how many people were already unhappy with their day:
-“Oh no, don’t tell me it’s raining again”
-“I hate Monday morning; I wish it was Friday already”
-“Do we have to go to your Mother’s house tonight for dinner; phone her and cancel it”
-“Your cat has been sick on the kitchen floor again, I am fed up with our life”
-“Have you seen the newspaper this morning, it says that petrol is going up again, we will never get ahead”
-“I bet our useless car will not start again this morning”
-“Nothing ever goes right for us”

So I started a list to see if “at least” 20 positive things happened in my morning:
1.I woke up, which is a huge bonus, because one day I won’t
2.Our kettle still works and I was able to enjoy a delicious hot coffee
3.The lights in our house came on again when I flicked the switch, the fridge was still keeping the food cold, the heater works and the oven produced some awesome porridge under the watchful care of my beautiful lady.
4.My computer popped into action again, the email connection works quickly and seamlessly.
5.Great friends and family have written to me overnight, sharing their news, photos and stories, and telling me how much they love me and value my friendship.
6.The sun is shining again, albeit behind the rain clouds, but it is definitely shining, otherwise it would be dark
7.The house protected me from the weather as I prepared for the day and now the car is keeping me warm and dry from the rain drops as I cruise along
8.The engine runs, the brakes work, the wipers swish back and forth, the gearbox does its thing and all the bulbs seem to turn on and off when they are supposed to
9.My cell phone woke up when I pressed the buttons and made it self available again for the day
10.The traffic lights are working and organising the traffic with their little coloured lights
11.The city council rubbish collectors were whisking away my garbage in their new trucks
12.My wife told me she loved me, kissed me and hugged me as we parted company for the day
13.I have been blessed with the ability to see, feel, hear, taste, think, walk, talk and pray
14.There are clothes and shoes, that fit me, in my wardrobe, and I have a choice of what to wear
15. I am free to travel wherever and whenever I want to in the world
16.The day is mine to design, I can go to work, or stay home, stay in bed or get up, walk the beach or visit a friend, we all have the ability to decide our day
17.I felt the wind touch my face as I walked and was reminded of the line in the movie “a walk to remember” which says “Love is like the wind. You cannot see it but you can always feel it!”
18.Just by opening the pantry, I am presented with a huge range of food choices
19.My children are alive and well and making their way in the world
20.I can read, write, speak and learn whatever I wish to learn
21.There is enough money in my bank account to provide the basic necessities for my family

This list could easily be shorter, or longer, depending on your willingness to look for the “good things” in life.

Everybody talks about the “glass being half empty or half full”. Forget the glass! Start to focus on your life, look beyond your current obstacles and dare to imagine a life full of health, happiness and love.

Find some uplifting and positive movies, books, audio and plug yourself into some new thoughts. Hang around uplifting people, seek out a mentor and begin to grow.

Dare to dream and become all that you were created for.

Only YOU have the power to change YOUR life!

NOTE: Please feel free to add your “positive things” to my list by submitting a comment to this blog.

Napoleon Hill spoke of the need for Accurate Information.

When my parents were alive they received relatively small parcels of news, theories, cures, money making ideas and celebrity stories from the newspaper, books, radio, work colleagues, friends and family.

Today we are literally bombarded with “so called” facts from the internet, radio, television, cell phones, newspaper, magazines, books, CD recordings, MP3 players, work colleagues, friends and family.

The list of information sources does not seem vastly different, but it is worth noting that each of our physical contacts now has access to huge pockets of data scattered across the various media platforms, most of which are completely non verified, often have a marketing or political agenda and are accessible twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

All of us carry inaccurate data in our head from time to time; we spread the stories and the urban legends like wildfire via emails, blogs, text messages and word of mouth. We forward emotionally charged, loaded-gun messages to our friends, (“send this message to seven other people and become wealthy” etc) without first checking the accuracy of the story or the opportunity.

We react to “so called” virus threats by creating a hailstorm of emails to everyone on our list, whereas in fact, most of the threats are completely false, and it is our emailing contribution that becomes another part of success in the perpetrators desired chain of events.

The internet is a wonderful medium to communicate, carry information, conduct online business and provide user selected entertainment.

Finding the “accurate information” inside the millions of pages is the challenge.

I believe it is my responsibility to at least attempt to verify a piece of data, before passing it on to others who may not be as wary. The key is to know where to look for that verification.

My personal choices are:

1. www.truthorfiction.com for hoaxes, world catastrophes, pleas for help, scams, emotional stories, virus warnings, special offers, rumours, inspirational tales, forwarded emails
2. www.wikipedia.com for celebrity status, historical events, corporate data, scientific facts and general knowledge
3. http://www.symantec.com/security_response/threatexplorer/azlisting.jsp?azid=F for verification of any new virus threats, emails, warning

Let’s “look before we leap” and start to filter out the truth from the fiction.