Do You Treat Positive Thoughts Like Pesky Mosquitoes?

If I told you that you probably hear from God a dozen times a day, would you believe me? I know. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Lately, even I don’t believe it. I’ve been struggling for the last few weeks – trying and failing to meditate, to be quiet, to be still enough to hear anything other than the relentless chatter in my head. It’s in times like these that I think, “It’s gone. The voice is gone. The Universe has abandoned me.”

As I was sitting the other night with a notebook by my side and my eyes clenched tightly shut (and hearing NOTHING, by the way), I started to think about how I came to hear this universal wisdom so clearly in the first place. Like anything else it takes practice…and I realized that I’ve abandoned my practice. I’ve become so accustomed to listening to the negativity in the world and in my head that I’ve tuned out anything else. When I hear a little whisper of positivity, I swat it away like a pesky mosquito, like it’s a nuisance, a bother, rather than the gateway to something bigger, something more.

So I decided to do a little exercise and make a list of all the encouraging thoughts that I had throughout the day but didn’t pay much attention to. This is what I came up with:

1. There is no need for worry.

2. You are enough.

3. You don’t need to be anything more than what you are.

4. I am here.

5. It will be alright.

6. Trust Me.

7. Stop trying to figure it all out. You can’t. Just be.

8. It is not too late. It is never too late.

9. Trust that your efforts will pay off.

10. Do not make other people’s problems your own.

11. Have faith.

12. Do not despair.

13. Do not let this cause you unrest.

14. This is not the end.

On the surface, these may not seem like much, but they are almost always an opening to something much greater. Because one sentence, one phrase, one thought is the only thing you need to start receiving the bigger message that is waiting for you. Here’s how:

v Grab a pen and paper and try to find some quiet space free of distractions.

v Remind yourself that what you write should come from a place of love, kindness, empathy, and understanding.

v Write down the thought that you want to focus on…and then keep writing.

v Try not to think too hard about the words and just let them flow. In the beginning, it may just feel like it is you writing, but at some point it may feel like someone besides you is guiding your pen, writing the words.

v Keep writing. Don’t stop to read what you’ve written until you have nothing left to write.

To give you an idea of how this works for me, I started with, “There is no need for worry.” Which turned into this:

There is no need for worry. I am taking care of you, I always have. Believe that you are on the right path to a bright and beautiful future, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. Trust Me. I only have your best interests at heart, only want to see you thrive and prosper. For today, you are exactly where you should be. Rest in peace and know that I am guiding your steps. Stop trying to control everything, to predict the future, and just enjoy the here and now. Nothing is missing from your life; you lack nothing that you truly need in this moment. Set your expectations aside and learn to appreciate what you have, all that surrounds you. To you it feels like nothing, feels like a burden, when it all was meant as a gift, prepared especially for you. Do not take this all for granted.

Could it be possible that, like me, you are choosing to ignore the divine wisdom and guidance that is always available? Could it be possible that you’ve conditioned yourself to believe the bad and brush off the good? Could it be that every day, multiple times a day, the universe is reaching out to you to provide the comfort that you’ve been searching for?

If it’s true for me, maybe it’s true for you too.