Start In First Gear

Be Satisfied With What You Have.- Be satisfied with what you currently have and life will feel more enjoyable.
Surround Yourself With Good People – Good company improves your life.
Add Some Music To Your day – Brighten your day with happy or relaxing music.
Believe In The World – Accepting the responsibility of being on this planet and loving it.
Finding The Best In People – We are all the same really, dealing with our lives.
We Are All Equal – You and I are from the same Mind Modal.
Back To The Basics – Stripping off all the additional attachments and being the real you.
The World Is Not A Bad Place – About us seeing the world in a positive light.
Facing The Truth About Ourselves – Lets start from the beginning.
Be Positive In Voice – Speak to other people with positive statements.
Be Positive Physically – Use positive body language to make people happy.
Be The Best That You Can Be – Try to be as good as you can be.

Introduction

This is a world of resistance, physical friction is everywhere, because this is a physical world.
You and I need to learn how to live in this physical world as best as we can. But best of all we can learn how to live in this physical world in a happy manner as well developed human beings. As well as physical friction there is also mental friction. With no friction life would be smooth sailing with the wind always at our back guiding us and no head winds to slow us down. Our world without friction is fiction. Life does have much friction. And well developed people can deal with life’s friction in ways that undeveloped adults can only dream of.

What is an undeveloped adult? This is a person who is in some way struggling with life.
Immaturity is a sign of a mind that has not been developed into adulthood, regardless of the persons age. A well developed person who is the person most of us wish we were.Mmature and in control of our life as best as we can be while being at peace with our life, past and present.

One of the first things we have to realise about our life is that we may have been treated badly during our childhood (the impressionable years of youth) and because of that we may also have treated others badly as youths and adults. We live in a society that is heavily based on money and material goods for survival. Instead of relying on people and love to help get us through, we heavily rely on money and what we can sell and own.

The mental health systems of the world are failing us greatly. Not that lomng ago that system didn’t even exist, and neither did the chemical drugs they give people. Clearly the human being cnnot simply become weak-minded and need chemicals to help the human brain cope with life. Something is wrong, very wrong.

To find happiness we need to try to be the best person that we can be. This is simple logic, for if you were not the best person that you could be then you would be a person with some sort of blemish that would hold you back from happiness. You have seen this yourself. You see your neighbours with lots of money, but the husband stays up late nights. The wife looks like she wears to much makeup and she is a closet drinker. He takes pills to keep up with his life. These people are not truly happy. There are many examples of those who are “meant to be happy” but are obviously not. They have the material items to impress the neighbourhood and work mates and family, but they have the sad tormented souls of people struggling to cope with life.

To be truly happy you must clear away the cobwebs of your life so that you can make good common sense decisions based on good knowledge that you willingly search for to help you answer life’s great questions.

Be Satisfied With What You Have
I knew that I could rant and rave, stomp my feet everytime I felt disappointed
with my situation, or take a more positive approach.

Having a house that needed repairs and not having the money to repair the house could be (and at one stage was) very depressing for me and my family. As time went by I knew that I needed to change my attitude towards my home because it was making me unhappy. I was clearly very ashamed of my home and didn’t like the thought of anybody visiting. If I did have visitors I spoke to that person outside of the house and I hoped that the visitor would not ask to come inside. It seemed that everytime I had a small amount of money to start a job to fix something around our home I would run out of something I needed to complete the job, or I would need a tool that I didn’t have, or maybe even a tool would break and I couldn’t complete the job until I replaced the tool. Town was miles away and a taxi was more than I was willing to spend (about $13 one way) to get to town, so to buy or replace a tool was expensive and was going to involve a long walk. If it was raining then I would have to wait for the rain to stop and this could take many days. This can be very frustrating.

I knew that I could rant and rave, stomp my feet everytime I felt disappointed with my situation or take a more positive approach. I decided (after some time) to try the positive approach. Being positive is not as easy as some books tell us. Changing our mental state based on some words in a book is not easy, the words need to show us the way so that we can feel the change in our life. Here is what I can offer you from my own life experience.

I decided to look at what I had, and try to be grateful for all that I had even though it was not much and a good deal of what I had was broken or needed repairs. When I pray in the morning I mention out loud the things that I am grateful for. Doing this always puts me in a better mood. I knew that I would have preferred to have had a better kept house with no repairs needed, but that was not the case so I felt that I had to look at our house in a different manner which was more positive.

I knew in my heart that I wanted to change my home and fix the many broken things that needed repairs. I also knew that I couldn’t do this immediately. My heart was in the right place and my attitude to living in a good home was the right attitude. My next step was to become grateful for the home “as it is”, for the time being. You must realise that this is a gratefulness that is for now. and of course my feelings of gratefulness would obviously grow as I had more money, tools, wood etc, in the future for the much needed repairs. As everybody knows it is sure a good feeling to have the resources to make repairs to a home. I would be very grateful that I could fix what needed fixing and my family and I would be more comfortable in our home in the future.

So I became happy about the house that my family lived in because it kept us reasonably warm, it was a roof over our heads and it sheltered us from rain, wind, storms and hail etc. We were sheltered from frosts and wind. A home is a wonderful thing to have, it was our treasured place to go when we had come back from somewhere. As you can see there are many ways in which even a run-down home can be helpful. My love for my home grew and my belief that I would someday soon be able to fix it up became real. My hope and belief that God would help my family grew as each day passed. In fact my belief in God grew with each new day. My belief in my own ability grew as my belief in God grew, it was a kind of linear feeling – both grew at the same time. It was a parallel existence, my spiritual life and my physical life travelled side by side in an effort to level my belief in God and my physical existence so that they could be one.

I became more happy at home by eliminating something (a negative feeling) that frustrated me. If I could do this with something as large and as important as a house then it was obvious that I could do it with other frustrations. The point I am making is that things are not always what they seem and your attitude to your life is what can often make a huge difference to your happiness. I may not have the fancy car that my neighbours have but I do have my family and I do have the comfort of knowing that God loves me and is willing to help me.

Surround Yourself With Good People

1 Corinthians Chapter 15, verse 33: Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

Our biological family may not be the best for us. They may be the worst for us, but do to family peer pressure we are pushed into staying faithful to people who really don’t care for us or anyone but themselves. This will do our own life no good. We need to depart from such company and surround yourself with people who love you. Sometimes we need to remove ourself from our biological family, or from some of them, and form around us a new family, called our spiritual family. There can be no greater help than from those that truly love you. These people want the best for you and they want nothing but your love in return and to be treated fairly, as they treat you.

When a person needs to feel happy it is a good idea to find people who are happy and surround yourself with their happy positive attitudes. We also need friends whoa re honest and will give us correction when we need it. We don’t need “yes men” around us, or “people pleasers”, we need people who are strong willed and able to cope in life.

One way to do this is to find a group of people who do something that you want to do or like doing. It could be a group of people who go to a local public club that helps the community or a club that supports a hobby that you are interested in. Community clubs are always keen to add new members to their group and they want to get to know you and have your company because you and they have common interests. You can start many new relationships joining public groups and if that group helps the community at large then you have a bigger opportunity of making new friends.

Church groups could be what you are looking for, they all have a common goal and that is to share their love in God. Although finding a church that you like may be hard. Once you have found the church of your choice and you have settled in you will enjoy the good company, the positive attitudes and the friendliness of the congregation.

Always remember, that all it takes is a sour grape added to a good mixture and the mixture will taste somewhat sour. In other words you need to be cheerful and happy when you join a cheerful and happy group of people. I am sure that you would not feel happy to think that you upset a well balanced happy group due to your sour nature (if you have one). So do all that you can to enjoy other peoples company and be happy just as they are. So when you are with happy people – do as they do – be happy!

Add Some Music To Your Day

Music soothes the soul and floods the heart with nutritional sunshine.

Music is well known for its medicinal soulful qualities. Music soothes the soul and floods the heart with nutritional sunshine. The right kind of music can really bring happiness to your day or at least help ‘set the day’. When you are doing housework or washing the car some good happy music can really get the adrenaline going and help you along with your chores. Instrumental music is well known for its soothing nature. Of course, to get the right affect you should listen to music that is not rowdy and doesn’t bark at your brain, we are talking about soothing your soul, not trying to blast it to heaven before its ready to go. If you are into heavy rock or other noisy music take a break and try something a little healthier for your relaxation (and the neighbours).

Music that you can sing to can help get the lungs going, speed the heart beat up, while being a companion as you go through your menial tasks of the day. Music also helps takes away the boredom. My family sing often, we like music and we love songs that we can sing to. Singing was promoted by me when my children were young mainly because I have always enjoyed the magic of good singing, happy songs. Sometimes I may be found dancing somewhere in the house with my children to some song that is being played on the stereo. It is something that our family does naturally and we all love it, from the teenagers down to the youngest. We listen to music that spans many decades, this gives us many choices to choose from and we are bound to find something that suits our moods.

I highly recommend that you insert some music into your day. I also recommend that you encourage all the family to join in with the singing and dancing. Do this and you will turn your home into a happy carnival of musical adventure as everyone tries to dance and sing to each others musical tastes. It is all done in good fun, and that is the secret to a happy musical family. If you are a parent in a young family this is the time to add some music to your days. I have found that children who are brought up on happy music turn out to have good music tastes and seem to be happier for the experience.

Good happy music comes from the heart and goes to the heart. Tasteful music tempts the taste buds and begs to be dished out to clear the gloom from your home. Music is also good for helping with the family mood as a whole.

Please don’t let other peoples opinions choose the music that you play, have the courage to make your own choices. If other people don’t like it, well they don’t like it, but you can still play it. In other words there are many, many different singers, groups and musicians who have recorded music for many years. Try not to limit yourself to only modern music (or one type of music) or you will be missing out on some great recordings.

The latest addition to all the music that my family likes is Hymn music. This is joyful music that the entire family can sing along to while at the same time singing praises to God and Jesus. The tunes are mostly merry and the songs full of harmony. Often we play these hymns for the little ones who are drifting off to blissful sleep.

Believe In (The People Of )The World

We see and hear a lot of things during our daily travels, yet in many ways see and hear nothing except for what matters to us most. Lots of noises and sights are around us yet we take them for granted. A part of feeling good about our lives is to stop, look and listen. There are wonderful things all around us! Sadly while we wander through our lives worrying about our chores and the hassles of life we forget the beauty of nature and the love to be seen, heard and enjoyed. Sometimes our friends or family can even ring us by phone in an act of love and we are so worried about the hassles of our lives that we don’t even notice that love, we just deal with the phone call.

An easy way to rediscover the simple free joys of life is to watch a baby stare and google with wonder at the things that we often take for granted. I love watching babies play. The stunned surprise that’s on their face when they see something for the first time; their eyes go wide, their mouth drops open and they make some kind of incoherent noise as they stare. Sometimes the baby will break into a huge grin, sometimes the baby will try to pick up whatever it is that is amazing them. But whatever the baby does I always enjoy sharing the moment with the child as he or she mingles with the wonders of nature and life in general.

You too can bring this joy of nature up from the hidden depths of your soul. I reason that if you do not know the wonders all around you then how can you truly learn to enjoy life itself? You are a part of nature, so clearly you should be mingling in nature enjoying nature. It is the simple things that can make us very happy when times are tough. There was a period in my life when I could not take my children anywhere because we had no road worthy car and we had very little money. I knew that my children were suffering at heart and they wanted to get away and see the world. So I started taking them for walks and every now and then I would stop and point something out to them, explain what it is or ask them questions about it to encourage their curiosity. We would marvel at the designs of different leaves, watch rabbits tear across the grass to be far from us, watch birds fly, look for their nests and in general enjoy the free offerings of nature. Nature is free education that is real and true.

While we enjoy the world we should also respect all the other animals that walk, crawl, swim and fly around our planet. Many people actually forget that we share the world with many other species of animals. And many are being taken for granted. I find it strange that today people are seen in bad light when they try to defend the rights of animals. Animals need defending for they are simple minded creatures and I would find it an honour to help any animal in need.

Having pets are a great way to help you deal with life. “A dog is mans best friend” means – a dog is mankind’s best friend. What can match the bounding joy of a dog greeting its owner when he or she gets home. Please appreciate your animals. Patting a cat sitting on your lap can be a great relaxer and we all feel good when we help a defenseless animal by feeding it and looking after it. Did you ever help an animal when you were a child? You can still do this now as an adult and relive the joy of watching the animal get better and knowing that you were a part of its recovery. You will also have a new friend from the animal kingdom that you wouldn’t have had you not been so generous with your time and love.

The world is ours. It is a huge piece of property that we all own and we should treat it as our own. Just like our back garden needs nourishment, the lands of the world do as well. We, because we are the most intelligent life on Earth, have the total responsibility of looking after our planet and this we must do with love and care as we would look after our own children and family members. Earth is the carriage that holds us and keeps us alive, to abuse our planet is to abuse the one that feeds us. It is foolish to destroy the planet that feeds us, clothes us and keeps us alive.

If we take steps to help the world recover from the damage of mankind’s efforts to get ahead, it gives us a good feeling, a sense of purpose. We feel worthy because we do our little bit and it all adds up in the long run. My family and I take great pride in re-fertilizing our gardens and putting out our old things for the recycle people to take away, we know that they are going to find ways to reuse the items that we don’t need anymore.

Finding The Best In People

When we see the good in people we need to connect with it, become a part of it if we can. It is the good in people that make them special in a wholesome way. You can be a part of this goodness, and if you pursue your part in this goodness you will eventually get many happy returns for your efforts.

People are in general not bad, sometimes people do bad things but most humans are not bad as a whole. There is a lot of good in people and we need to see the good in people to know that it exists. In order to see the good in people we need to look for it in them sometimes, because in some people it is not that obvious. We often hear about charity groups and other non-profit organisations that are run by people who are not looking to better their own lives but are trying to help others with no return wanted except the feeling that they have helped someone to be better off.

But for the Grace Of God, you could have been anybody when you were born. Anybody on Earth. Look around you at the people who you come in contact with on a constant basis. You could have been any one of them. Consider what you would have been like if you had been born one of them. Pick a person out in your mind and think about how you would have grown up in that persons home. Would you behave as they do now? I would suggest that you would probably be exactly the same as they are now. If this person that you picked is somebody that you don’t like, does this mean that you wouldn’t like yourself if you were them?

Sometimes when I get the groceries I sit in a park seat before I go in and watch all the different people who park their cars and walk into the grocery store. I see many different people who come from many different walks of life, they are different colours, come from different cultures, wear different clothing, some rich and overdone, some rich and tidy, some middle class, some poor with ragged clothing, some poor and tidy…and I imagine what I would have been like if I had grown up in their shoes. I find that many of them are not much different to me. I also realise that all of them suffered many of the trials that I suffered as a child, many were spanked, some were abused, all of them cried, most of them fell off their bikes when they learned to ride a bike, all skinned their knees at some time, all had arguments with somebody and all have a had some form of broken heart at sometime in their life.

They are not much different to me at all, in fact with all the trials that they went through I feel that I have a special connection with them all, no matter what they look like and no matter what race, sex or status they have in society. 99% of the time I try to smile at all the people that I meet, not just the people that I know are my friends. When we realise that we all react differently to the way that we are dealt with by society we then can see how we are not that different from each other at all. In fact I would go as far as stating that we are all much the same inside, in our minds and in our hearts. We just express ourselves differently, we also react differently to the things that happen to us.

You are not much different from me. During my life I reacted to things in a certain way, you may have reacted to the same things in a different manner, according to the way we were both brought up, how we were educated, treated etc. We had different goals and ideals, you took one path, I took another, maybe even for a while we both took the same path but in different countries, at different times in or lives etc. So according to the lives that we chose, and do live, we are who we are, but we are not that much different from each other in essence. We have both suffered many of the same things, cried for the same reasons, watched our loved ones die, tried to protect people we cared for, worked to feed or look after those that we love. We brought clothes, chose a car, got married, travelled, the list goes on and on.

We Are All Equal

No matter where you are or who you are we are all equal in mind and spirit. Physically we have differences but they are basic in most cases, the basic designs of our physical bodies are the same. In other words our bodies were all designed with the same set of plans. The basics of our mind makeup is the same for all of us. We will call it the “Mind Model”, this mind modal is the same for all of us, it has the basic imprint of what a human being is when we were born. Over time we add attachments to this mind model, these attachments are the things that we learn as we grow up. Of course, we all learn different things but mostly we learn the same things such as crawling, walking, talking and things of the like nature.

When we meet people we tend to make judgements of the person and whether we like them or not, this is not a very fair way of discerning the worth of a person. First impressions shouldn’t count, at least not all the time. Our judgements are based on our previous experiences of people, people that we have met in the past. If we consider that each person has a mind modal that has had many experiences added to it over time then we can assume that this mind modal is the human soul. This human soul holds all our memories and thoughts in a huge non-ending database, so huge that every image we see and every thought that we have is recorded in it. When we make a decision this database is accessed and used as a reference. Of course if the wrong information is in this database of the mind then we will make the wrong choices and wrong judgments according to the information that we have.

To help you as you deal with life and with other people try to remember the Mind Modal. No matter what other people do or say, if you remember that we all have the same capabilities with our minds, it will help to keep you motivated and aware that you can do anything that anyone else has ever done if you put your mind to it.

If you remember that God created your Mind Modal, you will realise that you are perfectly made and if your mind is used in the manner that God created your mind to be used then you will surely realise that you can not fail. There may be some bumps along the way, but as long as you realise who created the human mind, body and soul then you cannot fail. In every way, during every day, the Almighty God is always at your side.

Back To The Basics

We have often heard the term “Going back to the basics” when reading articles about sports teams. Teams who have gotten a bit flimsy with their team efforts and the results look messy. By going back to the basic laws of the game they can “start over” and then rebuild their team plans and strategies. This way they can remove any negative habits that they have picked up along the way and use the tried and true basics that always work.

After many years of taking in other peoples thoughts, I decided that it was time to go back to the basics. But not just the basics of my life, the basics of mankind. Back to the beginning. To clear the slate so-to-speak and start over, find out who I really am. A person could physically strip themself down naked, and with no clothes on, earring’s and other attachments we still are very, very complex individuals with minds full of issues that we cannot easily strip out. It is not as easy as removing our clothes – we human beings are much too complex for that.

We often hear about how modern man is intelligent and the higher force on this planet. Today mankind uses words that people one hundred years ago couldn’t understand no matter how hard they tried. If we are so incredibly modern and intelligent then why are millions going back to the religions that were founded many hundreds or thousands of years ago? You would think that these people must be crazy to turn their backs on the modern high tech man of the new millennium. Mankind seems so much smarter now. We have had Fraud, Einstein and all the other great thinkers. We have therapist, psychiatrists and counsellors – how can people turn their backs on our great thinkers and go so far back in history for satisfaction?

It appears that these people are on to something, they obviously know something we don’t know so let us go back to the techniques of the past. Lets find out what is and was so brilliant about Jesus Christ, or Moses. Jesus came to this world to show us where we were going wrong. He was here to show us the way, Gods way.

If we can strip our mind naked, remove all the attachments made to our mind and soul over the years we can find out who we could have been in our natural state had we grown up in a more natural society. What I mean is take away all our modern thoughts, clothes, attachments (earring’s, dread locks, tattoos and other accessories) and find out who we really are. Most peoples modern clothes/looks.attachments signify something, maybe wealth or lack of wealth, maybe they are a statement or keeping up with the times, being fashionable etc. This is not the real you, you are not a statement or an advertisement for wealthy clothes. You are not a strutting, mincing advertisement for free sex either. Body attachments are normally a statement of some kind or other. I am not asking you to judge yourself and I am not judging you – we are just wanting to find who you are without the affects of society.

You need to see yourself as a human being, an original of the human race, a person with a soul, mind and body. By stripping off all the attachments that you have consciously and subconsciously gathered over your life up until now, you can see mentally who you really are. Forget all the causes that you fight for, this is about you, all that you do and have done in the past will soon have a more clearer meaning for you and you will understand who you are and why you feel as you do. Please forget all those attitudes that you have picked up over the years, we want to see the real you. Forget all the other people in the world for now, this is about you and only you. You as an individual, a person.

This is not easy to do as you may already have found out. We go through each day with thoughts going through our mind about the things that we are trying to forget for this moment in time while we find out who you really are.

Let’s mentally think of you as a baby, your soul is empty. Your mother and father are there but they are not the same parents that brought you up. These parents will feed and clothe you but they will let you grow without influencing you beyond the basic things that you need to know to keep safe from harm.

You have never watched television or listened to music beyond children’s songs, hymns and classical instrumentals and you have never been to see a movie. What do you think that your character would be like you reached the age that you are currently? TV, Movies, parents, friends, school etc all influence us and cause us to believe in things that we would not have believed in if we had not come into contact with them. We like to believe that everything that we accepted in life was completely our own choice but it is amazing what we can pick up from other people.

You may want to write down your thoughts about this process and what you are thinking about who you are as you are growing up like this. Would you be different to who you are today? How different? You would have noticed by now that you would obviously be different to the way you are today. Now that we have established that you would be different, do you like the “other you?” This is the natural you, the person you were born to be if you were allowed to grow as yourself. It is a real pity that we can’t take away in an instant the things that have influenced us over the years, but we can’t and many of these influences have taught you something. The secret of life is to learn the lesson, while casting away the negative effects to the past and moving forward positively into the future.

Being as poor as I was when I started writing this book made this easy for me to do because I didn’t have much. I didn’t have a car, or lots of money, or nice clothes. I had no attachments other than my children. I discovered that life has more meaningful for me and that people were more important than any material things that money could buy. Often I would think, “Gee I want a car, I don’t like walking everywhere” and then I would look at my children and think “At least I have those that I love the most and I wouldn’t swap their love for any car in the world”.

It would be very helpful for you if you went mentally back the ‘basic you’ as you read this book, when a good thought comes to you or you read something good, please don’t let the negative opinions formed in the past reject that good thought. No one is listening to your brain in your family, or your friends, so you are free to think your own thoughts as you wish.

The World Is Not A Bad Place

It is true, the world is only what we make of it. If we lead a good clean lifestyle, and be nice to all the people we meet, if we make an effort to comfort and help people in their hours of need, we will find that the world is not that bad around us at all.

Recently I was in a room of Christian people. They were all talking and one of them (the Pastor) said “There is a lot of bad in the world, and it is getting worse.” I thought to myself that this wasn’t very positive at all and since the Pastor was supposed to (in my opinion) spiritually lift up the souls of those around him I was disappointed by his comment. Some of the other Christians made similar comments and I said “I think the world isn’t so bad. In fact I think the world is getting better.” Everyone looked at me and then I said “If you look for evil, you will find evil.” That seemed to kill all the negative comments and one of the gentlemen there looked through his Bible for some positive text and read it out to everyone.

A few days later at church we had a visiting Pastor come and speak. His speech was very negative and was focused on the children in the church. He spoke of the dangers awaiting the children when they grew up, he spoke of the bad of the world. He talked of a little girl who was killed by her step father. He showed the congregation a photo of the girl. He told us all how the child was murdered and other details. Later on during the night I spoke with a Deacon of the church and I mentioned to him that I wanted to hear more positive sermons. More sermons about God’s love and what He did for us. This Deacon said that there was bad in the world and I said “If you were to walk down the main street in town tomorrow you would see many people. Some would smile at you, some would recognise you and say hello. All would be going about their business, doing their duties and just being themselves.” I then asked the deacon if all those people were bad. He said “Well, no.”

I then said “It would be a different thing if you walked straight into a local gangs home.” He would be faced immediately with some danger because they didn’t know him and he didn’t know them. He wouldn’t be sure if some of them would be hostile towards him. I then asked him “Would these be bad people?” He said “Yes” and I replied “So you see, you have to go searching for the bad in the world, but it is not obvious in your daily walk is it?” And he had to answer that it was not obvious.
The problem with today is that some people are so bombarded with negative news from all around the world that they often see only the bad in the world. And when a leader of some kind is negative then he or she can inflict their bad thoughts on all those that they are in charge of. Creating ‘group negativity’ is what I call this situation.

The Earth is a very large mass of land and water, which has billions of people living on it, the last I heard it was somewhere over seven billion people. With that amount of people there is bound to be some bad thoughts (bad people), but my belief is that there is a lot more good or else the entire world would be racked with war and destruction and it isn’t. Sure some countries are at war but the majority are not. Always remember “it is the bad news that gets published the most”. Bad news sells and newspapers thrive on getting the bad news to you as fast as they can. Sometimes good news gets published, unusual news gets attention, but bad news gets the most coverage. And why is this? Because people seem addicted to reading about other peoples bad news.

I see life it as simple logic:

Bad + Bad = Bad.
Good + Bad = A world of good and bad.
Good + Good = A much better world.

I think our world is Good + Bad, but we have a lot more Good everywhere. The balance is out of balance, and the scales are leaning heavily towards the Good side. When I take a walk I notice many people saying hello to me, mostly total strangers. If the world was a bad place this would not happen, in fact I would get mugged wherever I went and I don’t. People smile at me, and say nice things to me when I go shopping. Smiling and happy people are not signs of a bad world.

Let us use our imaginations to make the world into a perfect place, no wars, no human destruction, no arguments, no hassles, just love and peace. It sounds like a nice place to live in, but not many people would live there, most would get off and go to another planet – Why, you ask? Because humans don’t seem to have it in their nature to be totally good at all times. Even children can be naughty, does that make them bad? Should we ban them from our world because they were naughty? Or does that mean that they are bad for only some of the time? Should they then be banned into cells until they are old enough to know better? You can see that it can’t be done. Life on Earth has to be the way it is because we people live on it. Evil will alway exist, but we can contain it with good societies based on good moral standards, good work ethics and love.

People need challenges, we need the unexpected (which is sometimes dressed in unhappiness and sorrow), many people need a cause to fight for, a reason to live. We need something to feed our souls, something to do that is out of the ordinary. What a bore life would be if we had the perfect life.

One of the biggest problems we face in our life is that many of us are not prepared for life on Earth the way that we should be. Many parents and schools fail miserably in this area and many children struggle to find a way to deal with life’s issues. If you have trouble dealing with life’s issues, it is not your fault. Lets not try to blame anyone though, if the damage is already done then lets work at finding a way to fix it. Complaining to your parents or about the school systems will probably just upset people and solve nothing, in fact many of the people that you complain to will just become more convinced that they have done nothing wrong and will be more determined to force onward the same way that they have always done. A part of human nature is to defend what you believe in, and we all have different beliefs.

Is your life happy? If not, then why? We are meant to be unhappy some of the time, it is human nature. All the people on Earth cannot be happy at the same time because we have different dreams, thoughts, ideas and ideals. So we need to deal with not being happy in a moderate way, it is not the end of the world if life makes you unhappy some of the time. We can also make ourselves happier if we want to, this may sound crazy to some people but it is your choice to be happy or not.

After a disappointment or unhappiness we need to find ways to ‘pick ourselves up’ and forge ahead. Dwelling in our sorrow is self destructive and it affects our thought patterns to the extent that we may take negative options instead of options that may be for the greater good of yourself, family or friends.

Start actively looking for the good around you. See the good in nature, look for the good in people and what they do. You may want to consider being actively good which is probably the best way to learn about how good the world is. You could:

Join a group of people who give their time freely for other people.
Become a missionary.
Join a church group that helps people for free.
Volunteer your services to a charity.

When you meet people who are volunteering their time to help people ask them questions about why they do this, ask them what motivates them to help people and not get payed for it. These questions and answers will help you understand many things, but most of all you will see (in action) people going to great personal sacrifice to help others which is pure proof that the world is not a bad place in general and you can help it to become better.

One of the best cures for feeling down or after a tragedy is to find a way to help others. I have read alot of stories about tragedies where many people help others. An example is a person losing someone in a tragedy yet they will still go to great lengths to help others even though they have a broken heart. Doing good is a good cure for heartbreak, it reaffirms in your heart that you are useful, that you are wanted and needed, and it gives you great pleasure knowing that you have made a difference when it was needed.

One of the ways to learn that the world is not a bad place is to do good and see the good of the world in person. Try to make a genuine effort to go and ‘see the world’. Even if it is just in your town or around the outskirts. Visit places that you have always wanted to see. Try new things, but most of all try to meet as many people as you can because it is the people on this planet that make it the wonderful place that it is, the animals, plants and other creations are just the dressing, the background images to a human existence. People are what this world is all about – human beings – mankind!

Look around you when you go for a walk, look at the people around you. They are doing things that make them happy. Look at the trees, the flowers, the sunshine and if it is raining see the way the water rains down upon the Earth giving it nourishment and life. See the drops of water hitting the leaves on the trees, sparkling in the sunlight like the jewels that you would expect to see in Heaven. See the joy on peoples faces, the happiness as they go about their business. Look at the animals all around you, dogs, cats, cattle, all living things doing what they do best, just living. Let them be an example to you that the best thing in life is to live and enjoy doing what you were made to do and that is to love one another in a totally unselfish way, the way that God hopes it will someday be for everyone. These things only exist because the creator, God, put them there for you. You are one person but you are so very important to God, each and every one of us is very important to God.

God gave us every existing plant, animal, fish and human on this planet all because He loves you. You are a special soul that was created for a special reason and that reason was love and what God was trying to do is set you up in a world of love. People stumble often and we need to see the love of God to know that it was all designed to be good and only humans can take this world from being good, and with the wrong thoughts and attitudes we humans can turn love into a sour thing. God has given us this world to enjoy, to use at our leisure to create and relax in as we see fit, so the choice is ours how we deal with our lives and how we deal with this world, the choice is yours. Once you can feel, and can see, what a tremendous gift that God has given you then you will see your life in a very different light and you will be sure to enjoy this gift to the utmost loving pleasure that it can hold for you.

Every time that you cuddle somebody, kiss somebody, fall in love with somebody, feel that special warmth and cosiness when you are close to real true love, you would do well to remember who made this all possible for you to enjoy. There are only two souls that mean real true love and they are God and Jesus Christ, those who have sacrificed the most just for you and I. Those are two names that you should never forget when you go through your life. All creators should be recognised for their efforts, and we need to recognise the true eternal love that has been given to us – Gods people – here on Earth.

Life is a wonderful thing and it is only your attitude to life that could make you feel that life is a bad thing. Change that attitude and you will see the world as God wanted you to see it, a place for mankind to live in peace and harmony.

Facing The Truth About Ourselves

To get to know ourselves better and understand who we really are and what we really are capable of we need to do some real soul searching to find the truth. Hollywood, television, magazines confuse us with their versions of what a person is meant to be. Finding your true self, talents, abilities, limitations and your real worth is not easy, to be honest with ourself is the hardest part.

We need to take ourselves away from the society created groups to see what we are. A woman is a woman and a man is a man. In today’s world the genders can be very mixed up and this in turn makes life very confusing for our young. The influence of Hollywood movies, television, magazines, books, and societies groups can create a lot of confusing attitudes if a person is willing to be led or confused by them.

The reality of who you are and what you can do can only be found within you. I suggest that if you are a member of a group of people that is based on race, gender, political, social, then consider seriously taking a step back and keeping away from that group for a while, maybe for a few months while you read this book.

You see, while we are growing up and are affected by the many things that happen to us, we form opinions from these events, people and emotions etc. These opinions may not be really what we want to have in our life and may not be truth. Lets get a breath of fresh air away from those stresses and take a good long slow look at ourself. Lets find you, the real you. Lets be motivated about the most important thing to you – You! All of us are worthy, good and a blessing to the world.

Be Positive In Voice

By this time in your life you will have read various positive text. You would also have seen positive programs on television or seen them in videos or at the movies. Speaking to yourself positively is a good practice to keep up. Now is a good time to reach out to your inner self and create more positive thoughts. Look for books with positive quotations in them or read books based on peoples positive experiences to get you started.

But I would like you to go one step further. I want to suggest to you to make positive statements to all those around you. We are all in a special sense preachers, we preach to ourselves mentally and we preach to other people around us. I am suggesting that you make positive statements to all the people you have to deal with as you go through your day. This includes your family who will appreciate it the most. I am not suggesting that you make unusual positive statements or try to force your opinion on other people, what I am suggesting is that you insert positive statements in your normal conversations.

Examples:

Say ‘Thank You’ often or whenever it needs saying.
Say ‘Please’ whenever the situation calls for it.
Mention what a nice day it is.
Praise people whenever you see them do something right or something good.
When somebody does something for you, you can say something like “Thank you, that was very kind of you.”
When people gossip around you break into the conversation with some positive comments. Maybe you could tell an amusing positive story, to kill the negative gossip session.

Making positive statements to other people will of course help keep others positive in thought. Your efforts will rub off on those around you. And in time they will all get to know you as a positive happy person and they will treat you accordingly. Do to others what you want or expect them to do to you.

This is a simple but very effective step for you to take to help others and keep moral up wherever you go. Make a conscious effort today to start this new routine and watch peoples faces when you speak to them so you can see the reactions that you get, all the while being careful to be honest with your positive statements and to not overdo them. I enjoy seeing the reactions on peoples faces when I speak to them in a positive manner. And I always enjoy changing a sour look for a smile on someone else’s face. It can be a challenge but that is half the fun of it! And who is the winner if you succeed?…Both of you!

Be Positive Physically

Another way to inflict positiveness on those that you know and love is with positive physical movements. When you are encouraging somebody you love put your arm around them in an affectionate way. Pat people on the shoulder (gently) when you are talking to them. Shake a persons hand enthusiastically, let that person know that you are pleased to meet them, and always have a big joyful smile on your face as you greet them. These are just a few examples of what you can do to create happiness wherever you go. People love to feel important, needed and approved of, and if you can let them know just how important they are to you then it can only do your relationship or new relationships a lot of good.

This is another quick way for you to change your character that will become a habit for you and will inflict happiness on other people while you do it.

Be The Best That You Can Be

Life is a challenge, an exciting challenge if you choose to see it that way. Life has its ups and downs as you are well aware of. You have a choice of having an exciting life or a dismal one. Think about that – “you have a choice” – Yes, the choice is yours. One of the things we are not often told about when we are children is that we will come to an important point in our lives when we will actually have to make the choice of what type of life we want. This is normally when a person reaches their late teens. Some people will go with the flow and follow the footsteps of their friends, some will follow the footsteps of their parents and some others will make some very important decisions about their futures. These people will head in a different direction, a direction that they choose which will be possibly harder than what their friends are doing.

At no matter what stage of life you are at, you can make some choices to change your life for the better. If you read many history books you will see that many people succeeded in their forties, fifties, and sixties and in some cases even older. Don’t ever think that you have missed the boat because of your age. As long as you are alive you can do something to better your life.

One piece of advice that I can give you is for you to try to be the very best that you can be. Don’t sell yourself short by reaching for short straws, go all the way. Your birth was a special event that put you here on this planet, that event was an amazing occasion for the many people who have known you through your life. Your birth is the most special historical event of your life, it was the start of a momentous human life. A life that has touched many other peoples lives and will go on touching more peoples lives. Because of the affect that you have had on other peoples lives you can plainly see that you could have done better in some cases. Why not try for the best? Why not try to be the best person that you know? Why not try to be the very best person that you can possibly be?

You have the option to ‘do your best’ or let life pass you by.

The Start Of The Day

When you get up in the morning, please try to concentrate on the good things that the world has to offer for you today. Morning is a time where your mind has to get a grasp of the day, trying to tell if it is going to be a good day or a bad day, your mind will be wondering what the day will bring. If you are in the habit, as so many people are, of getting up in the morning in a bad mood then you could be negatively pre-programming your day or at least your entire morning up until noon. Make an effort to remember other similar days like today and what good things that have happened on such a day as this. If you live with other people always be thankful that they are there with you. If it is raining think about the way that rain helps keep life on earth alive and how much you need rain. Say a quick prayer to God thanking Him for rain and its healing affect on the world. If the weather is sunny think about other sunny days that you have known and how they improved your life.

During your life events have happened, events that were exciting on days such as this. Some were extraordinary days with action, love and happiness, some boring but restful if treated in the correct manner by yourself. Today is the start of another day. Who knows what it will bring to you? The best thing for you to do on any day is to start it off on the right footing, with a big joyful smile on your face. Then if the day is good you are already prepared to enjoy it from the start. If the day starts of as a bit of a downer then you will be the first to be seen with a happy smile on your face showing others the way.

It is like being positive in thought or negative in thought.

“Oh, not another day!”
Or you could say to yourself or others that you see when you get up:
“What a great day!”

Remember your day is about choices. You can be grumpy or be pleased at the start of your day. Your choice can make a great difference to the lives of those who know you best. If you are grumpy then those who know and love you will try to avoid you. If you are kind and happy people will take extra steps to be with you. As you can see, your choices in the morning can also attract or repel good or bad feelings all day long. Be wise and transmit positive thoughts to all the people that you meet every morning, letting them know that they are important in your life and thus making yourself important in their lives. Be like the sun and spread a little sunshine wherever you go every morning.

Have you a desire to start the day in a happy way? Then all you really need to do is do so. Please don’t settle for less because you deserve a good life just as much as other people.