Focusing on the Positive

Affirmation:  I have the power to choose the positive over the negative.  

Father Richard Rohr, prolific writer and teacher, has a daily e-mail missive that is published by him and his organization, The Center for Action and Contemplation.  One of my daily practices is to read something motivational in the morning and inspirational in the evening.  Sometimes, actually many times, one reading can prove to be both.  Father Rohr's writings often fall into the dual category. Father Rohr is a Franciscan friar and much of his theology and philosophy stems from the writings and practices of Saint Francis.  I have also been told his approach to religion can be somewhat controversial.  He has a very inclusive approach to God and spirit; you wouldn't think that would spark any controversy but it does.  He doesn't follow all the rules.  His focus is on one rule, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  He speaks a lot about non-dualistic thinking and the non-dualistic mind.  He encourages his readers and followers not to judge.  He encourages simply observing, not labeling.  I find his advice to be so very refreshing, also quite yogic, also very Zen.  

One of his exercises in The Naked Now directs one to focus his or her attention on a single object and just to observe it.  What purpose could that possibly serve you might ask?  A dear friend of mine is part of my church study group and we are presently reading The Naked Now.  She wasn't too enamored with Father Rohr’s teachings but she is a good student and followed his suggestion.  She found a chair on which to focus in a doctor’s waiting room.  Her eyes settled on it and she shared that her first thought was, “That is the ugliest chair I have ever seen!”  She’s quite a remarkable woman, a searcher, looking to increase her faith and grow to know God better.  She shared how powerful that moment was for her.  If she couldn't even focus on a chair without judgement, how was she approaching the really important things and especially the people in her life?  It’s a very challenging practice to learn to simply observe and not to judge.  It may be even harder according to some studies to judge something in a positive light than a negative light.  

Today’s reading, this February 19,2016, from The Center for Action and Contemplation, Father Rohr wrote about how important but challenging it is to focus on the positive.  

“Dan O'Grady, a psychologist and Living School student, told me recently that our negative and critical thoughts are like Velcro, they stick and hold; whereas our positive and joyful thoughts are like Teflon, they slide away. We have to deliberately choose to hold onto positive thoughts before they “imprint."

Neuroscience can now demonstrate the brain indeed has a negative bias; the brain prefers to constellate around fearful, negative, or problematic situations. In fact, when a loving, positive, or unproblematic thing comes your way, you have to savor it consciously for at least fifteen-seconds before it can harbor and store itself in your "implicit memory;" otherwise it doesn't stick. We must indeed savor the good in order to significantly change our regular attitudes and moods and we need to strictly monitor all the "Velcro" negative thoughts.”

No matter what I read or hear about concerning the mind the message is the same; we have the God given free will to control what we think.  We get to choose our thoughts.  It’s a gift.  It’s given freely.  Maybe the power we have over our thoughts is another phrase for “grace.”  Grace, freely given to whomever requests it.

I heard a story about a man who was traveling through the South in the US and ordered toast and eggs for breakfast at a local diner.  When the breakfast came there was also a white looking “cereal” on the plate.  He said to the waitress, “What is that?”  she explained they were grits.  He told her he hadn’t ordered grits.  She said, “Honey, you don’t have to order grits.  They just come.”  The story was being told to emphasize that grace is just like grits in the South.  You don’t order it, it just comes.  I loved this story but, I thought, you still must choose whether or not to eat the grits.  I believe Grace is like that too.  We must decide whether or not to accept the Grace.  We must decide whether or not we are going to focus on the “fearful, negative or problematic situations,” or if we are going to focus on joy, hope, peace, love and gratitude.  

This is one of the reasons I write in my daily journal three joys from the previous day and one joy to which I am looking forward for the present day.  It forces me to concentrate throughout the day on those things that bring me joy so that I can remember them for the next morning.  Today a Blue Heron swooped as I sat to begin my mediation and then a Pelican came along and finally before I closed my eyes one of the two Osprey that seem to be nesting close by soared above me.  I just sat and absorbed the awe I felt as these amazing creatures flew by.  If you assumed I am somewhere close to the sea at this time, you would be correct.  

My husband and I chose to spend some time in Florida for one of my significant birthdays.  We went online last year to Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) and chose a home.  We got a larger than needed home with the hope that our children and grandchildren and as many friends as possible would come and stay with us and would celebrate with us.  This was our first VRBO rental and it has been quite an adventure.  It began before we left home when a friend warned me of potential scams; people advertise proper that’s not theirs or doesn't even exist.  I did my due diligence and alleviated myself of that worry.  The house did exist.  We arrived and there it was.  It looked like an estate located somewhere other than the United States, maybe somewhere in South America or some island somewhere.  The first thing we noticed was an abandoned car on the side lawn.  The garage portico was filled with all sorts of plastic chairs and tables, heaters and who knows what else; stuff that would be used for a very large event.  

The owner met us at the front door.  She and her family had been cleaning all day.  We took a deep breath and entered.  The furniture was very dated, beyond antique status and there was a huge Christmas wreath still hanging over the fireplace.  The wires for the lights were hanging off of it.  I think we were so stunned we didn't have any words.  We had rented this place for a few weeks and I’m not sure what recourse we had other than to suck it up and make the best of it.  Does it sound like I only focused on the negative?  Well, it’s true.  The tale becomes even more bazaar but I’m not going to go into any more detail at this point.

Now comes the part where I have to decide if I’m going to focus on that abandoned car and Christmas wreath or the fresh flowers and chocolates the owner put everywhere or the heated pool out back or the views from the windows out of the back of the house, the views that allowed me to sit quietly and watch the Blue Heron, the Pelican and the Osprey soar gloriously through the air and bring me one or maybe three of my joys to record for the next day.  Dan O’Grady is right.  That negative stuff stuck to me like Velcro.  It took quite a few days to get it off of me and to come to the point where I could focus on the positive, on the joys that were available to us in this VRBO adventure.  It’s good we have the power to choose.  It’s good I’ve been practicing for quite a while.  I chose to find the joy, the grace and the blessings of a husband and a family that wanted to celebrate this life of mine of which I’ve been so blessed to live.