What if you didn’t listen to the mirror? How many times have you looked into the mirror and wish you hadn’t? How many times has the mirror told you it’s a bad hair day, pointed out a blemish, or noticed you’ve gained weight? It may not be the mirror’s fault. The problem my reside in a false self image that lives inside us. When we look in the mirror, if the image doesn’t reflect what our false self image wants alarms go off and sirens blast. We probably picked up this image from listening to others, e.g., parents, siblings, friends, or the media. What if we told the mirror to chill and that we are happy with the way we look?
what if
What If . . .
What if one were to let every slight slip by like a piece of paper tossed about by the wind? Man, we humans can take the slightest remark we judge as a slight and turn it into a reason for a battle. Does it make sense to get upset over something one won’t remember in a short time? Let’s see what we get out of it. We kick our blood pressure up. We let it take control of our thoughts for the rest of the day. We may lose a friend. Hmmm. it doesn’t sound like much of a reward. If I blow off the remark, my blood pressure remains good, I’m thinking about better things in life, and maybe I can file a comment away that I can use in a piece of fiction I’m working on.
What If . . .
What if I find myself in the middle of a tough day? No matter how tough the day, the tough part will end. It’s part of the natural course of life. It may not end as quickly as I want it to, but it will end. There is a better day waiting ahead for us. It we patiently endure, we will leave the tough times behind us and embrace the sunshine once again.
What If . . .
What if I acknowledged my fears and went ahead anyway? That’s courage. Some call it facing your fears. I think it’s a bit more than facing one’s fears. In acknowledging my fears, I take ownership for them. When I go ahead in spite of my fears, I take control of them. My fears may hang around, but they won’t control me.
What If . . .
What if I kept a journal each day for one month and listed the good things that happened to me each day. I’d include the small things like someone letting me easily switch lanes while driving. Receiving a text message from a friend I haven’t heard from in a while. Being surprised that my weight was perfect when I weighed after showering. There might be some big things, like my doctor calling and saying my blood work was perfect, keep up the good work. I think that after one month of keeping this journal I’d feel good about my life.
What If . . .
Mid term elections are coming up in U.S. Both the Democratic and Republican party are vying for control of the Senate and House of Representatives. What if everyone who was concerned about the direction of the country volunteered to work for the candidate of his/her choice? Whatever the outcome we’d have a more engaged populace. We’d have the feeling that we made a difference in the election’s outcome. Working for the candidates of our choices is a better option than complaining about and demonizing opposing candidates.
What If . . .
What if one made a decision to learn something new? You don’t have to wait until New Year’s Day to begin. Why not begin today. Perhaps you want to learn a new language, how to play the guitar, or how to do a podcast. There are an infinite number of things to learn. Our minds want to learn. They want the workout. Imagine two people, each of whom wants to learn to speak enough Spanish to help them communicate when they visit a Spanish speaking country. One person downloads a language learning app and practices every day. The other person does nothing. In one year, they’re both a year older, yet, the former person can now visit a Spanish speaking country and can confidently make his/her way around.
What If . . .
The weather is starting to cool down a bit in south Texas. It’s still hot by most standards. Instead of 100 degrees (38 Celsius), It’s cooled to 90 degrees (32.2 Celsius). Break out the gloves and scarfs – LOL. I went for a walk on a close by nature trail. I wanted some solitude and the trail offers plenty of it. Well, a biker passed by and wished me good morning. Ten minutes later he passed by again and asked how my day was going. Ten minutes later he comes up behind me and slows down and starts talking. I had several choices. I could have told him to get lost. I could have told him i wanted solitude. Or, I could engage in conversation with him. I asked myself, What if I engaged in conversation with him. My intuitive defenses weren’t giving off an alarm, so, I did. He rode at my walking pace as we talked. After a half mile, he got off his bike and walked his bike while we talked. Here were two strangers connecting. He was from India and I from the US. A mile later he thanked me for the conversation and took off on his bike. I was grateful for meeting him and the engaging conversation we shared.
What If . . .
What if I had another hour in the day, what would I do with it. Would I binge watch a series I’ve been wanting to see? Would I sleep in an extra hour? Would I use it to invite friends to a party? Would I use it to pray? There are so many ways I could use the extra hour in the day. The more I think about it,, I like the day the way it is. It’s 24 hours. I can count on it, I like my life, the extra hour would surely complicate matters. Life has enough complications without adding a bunch more.
What If . . .
What if you called someone today who is having a down day and said, “Tomorrow will be better than today. Hang in there.” What if you are having a down day and someone called you and said, “Hang in there, tomorrow will be brighter than today.” A few simple words can lift people out of the dumps and bring a smile to their face. The right words make a difference.
