Grains of Sand

How does an oyster create a pearl? A tiny grain of sand works its way in to the oyster shell and irritates the poor innocent oyster. Over time, the grain of sand transforms into a precious gem; pearls are created from friction and irritation.

Every life encounters irritation. The only way to avoid any friction in life involves hiding in a cave, avoiding people and avoiding any contact with life outside yourself. Even that existence could and probably does encounter loneliness, poverty, and the elements (life in a cave does not convey luxury and warmth to my imagination.) Bottom line - life has irritations and inconveniences.

Everyone, including yourself, chooses to have a better future than their present circumstances. You still have dreams and goals. If you have given up on all dreams and goals, we need to have a different conversation. You deserve a life you design for yourself. If you do not design your own present and future, by default, it will be designed for you. Who do you believe will do a better job of designing your ideal future - you or someone else? You were given a brain and expected to use it. I promise you that you were not given goals and dreams of a better life without a way to make them come true. It all depends on how badly you want that better life. What are you willing to do to achieve it?

Irritation happens in life; irritation is reality. The question which makes all the difference between the successful and the failures directly relates to how you handle that irritation. You can choose the curl up in a corner and cry "poor me" or stand up, dust yourself off and say, "Watch me." The pearl, the successful business person, persisted until victory finally waved "hello" from the top of the financial mountain.

Andy Andrews, author of the "Travelers Gift," found himself living under a pier in California at one point in life. He chose to visit the library every day, read everything he desired to improve his mind, make a decision to start improving his life, and take action on that decision. He chose to find a way to improve and actually do the work required to bring that improvement into reality. Was it easy? Absolutely not. Was it worth the struggle? Absolutely yes.

Every life encounters various size rocks. Rocks of Life spoke about the big rock in the field of our life. Attitude Rocks illustrated the importance of your attitude in every situation. Attitude plays such an important role with every size rock. Mindset determines how we handle these incidents in life. Frequently these rocks are gift wrapped and tied with a ribbon of guilt.

Sometimes others sent me on guilt trips.

Other times I was invited to go along with someone else on a guilt trip.

The worst guilt trip was when I purchased my own ticket.

Developing an attitude of, "What good can come from this situation" smoothes the path and eases the mental anguish. Seeking the positive in every incident in life relaxes the tension and allows a constructive outcome. Expecting a negative result predetermines the likelihood of undesirable consequences. More frequently than not, we experience what we expect rather than what we desire. Concentrating on prosperity and abundance rather than lack tends to produce more prosperity.

Your subconscious mind does not know how to distinguish good from bad or desired rather than expected. Program your subconscious mind to expect only the highest and best results for yourself. Developing a positive attitude and a positive expectation encourages life to provide desirable results. At the very least, it eases your mind and relaxes your creative abilities so that they can function at their highest level.

It is not what happens to us and outside of us which truly creates the difference; the significant difference is always created inside ourselves. Break up the big rocks and haul them away. Gather the medium sized rocks, the pebbles and the grains of sand into a bucket; seal the bucket and destroy it. No need keeping any rocks around to stub your toe of life. Deal with them once and for all and get rid of them forever.

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change, stated Dr. Wayne Dyer.

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