I Spy

I Spy By Lisa Bryan   Remember playing the “I Spy” game as a child? We would look around our environment and see an object with a certain color and ask our companion to guess what it was. Upon guessing, the companion would then take their turn of choosing an object to be “spied”.  Consciousness works the same way, it turns out. We go about our daily lives and “spy” something to focus on. Depending on what we choose, this choice of focus will often determine our thoughts then our feelings then our behaviors then our day. If those days multiply and turn into weeks, then ultimately our lives are affected. I’ve heard it said different ways. For instance, “What you feed grows” is another way of saying that where we place our attention is where our lives go. Have you ever tried to steer a car straight while you are looking to the side? It is increasingly difficult the longer your eyes are focused elsewhere. In fact, if you don’t at least glance forward again to reorient yourself, your hands will follow your eyes looking to the side and you will run off the road!  Another game that tells a lot about where our attention is focused is the “red car” game. First you start off seeing who can count the most red cars. Then when the game is over it seems like it’s stuck in your mind. You begin to see red cars everywhere when previously you never noticed them. It becomes difficult to ignore them and once again just look at cars as cars – red or not.  That is a great indication of just how powerful our mind’s attention is when focusing. It is the difference between a regular incandescent light bulb and a laser beam. One is giving off light in all directions and illuminating everything and the other is intensely focused light that has tremendous power. When we focus our minds like lasers on something then we give it tremendous power. If we are always focusing our energy towards negative concepts, situations, and thoughts then our lives are filled with that negativity. That becomes the “red car” that everything is compared to and that seems to be everywhere you look.  I know someone closely who feels like the weight of the world is on their shoulders a great deal of the time. They worry about everyone in their family and their personal situations, friends and their personal situations, acquaintances and their personal situations, and our government and how it is not being run properly, and how our entire world is going to “hell in a handbasket”.  This person listens to the news all day long every day and has trained themselves to see the red car everywhere all the time. Attention is so focused on the problems of the world that they feel very depressed and heavy hearted much their waking hours. My friend’s own life has little time devoted to developing real problem solving skills because the focus is primarily on the problems of OTHERS rather than the solutions needed for a smooth life’s drive on a straighter path for themselves.  Attention is a very powerful force. It is a guiding force. What are we paying attention to in our lives on a continual basis? What are we focusing on and “spying” regularly? Whatever it is, it is setting the tone for our lives and the direction we are “driving”. Are you off in the weeds on the side of the road of your life? Are you having difficulty steering straight ahead? Are you seeing red cars of negativity and problems everywhere? Then perhaps analyzing where your “eyes” both physical and mental are focusing on a daily basis will help you “straighten up” and drive smoothly down the road of your life. Remember, what you feed, grows! Choose wisely what you say "I spy" to today and set the tone of your life to happiness and well-being.