Ya'll, this secret really will help turn a really terrible day into a better one. It won't erase a difficult day--but, boy, will it help! This secret isn't anything I magically discovered. It's a universal truth, and one that my parents taught us growing up.
Just recently, as I was reminding our daughter, who is navigating the murky tween years, to remember The Secret, I realized that I hadn't been practicing what I was preaching. I had not been taking my own advice lately...until today. In the middle of our yearly transition out to summer camp life, I had let myself get bogged down emotionally. And today, my heart is overflowing with gratitude and joy--all because of The Secret.
So, what is The Secret? What is this Secret, that I tell my daughter will improve a bad day, a bad situation, or a depressed feeling?
I like to think of The Secret like a pair of binoculars. In normal life, I go around with binoculars focused mostly on myself. Oh, I'm looking around as I go about my days. But, what I'm focused most on, is myself: My needs, my frustrations, my wants, my mistakes. After too many hours, too many days with that kind of self-focus, I'm an ugly, depressed mess. Or, sometimes I'm a spoiled rotten mess that thinks she deserves more.
The Secret to improving that kind of emotional mess, is to take my binoculars, and point them outward. Focus on the people around me. Serve the people around me. Focus on the beauty around me. Focus on the gifts around me. Suddenly, my problems fade into the background. They are still there, but I don't feel weighed down by them. In focusing on others and reaching out to them, I feel lighter, more joyful, and more grateful.
WOW. How funny that I call a simple truth, first taught in the Bible two thousand years ago, my secret! But--hey--it works in our family to call it that. Telling my daughter to remember The Secret is our special code. She understands right away that she has a practical and effective tool within her power to fight against feelings that are spiraling out of control.
And I forgot my own advice. Here I've been the last 2 weeks, going through the motions of transitioning out to summer camp life, feeling overwhelmed by it all, and probably a little the changes...when all-of-a-sudden, last night and today 2 acts of kindness shook me back to an awareness of The Secret. The kindnesses shook my binocular's focus off myself, and back onto others.
Here I've been focusing on the frustrations that always accompany change, when around me I've been missing the amazing people in my life, and the incredibly rich environment our family gets to experience every summer.
Last night and today, 2 people reached out to show love to our oldest daughter in such overwhelmingly kind ways that I wanted to cry and smile at the same time. Suddenly, I looked up--and around me--and started noticing all the good going on around me. People caring about others around me. People serving around me. And--gulp--people serving me. Loving my daughters. And loving me.
How could I have missed all of this these past 2 weeks? Not one thing has changed around me...except my focus. And let me tell you--the view ahead sure is beautiful!
What about you? Have you experienced the power of The Secret?
Or--what do you do to improve a bad day, bad situation?
"The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself."
-Proverbs 11:25
*binocular photo credit: Joelk75 on Flickr
