Choose Which to Surf

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"Feelings are like waves, we can't stop them from coming but we can choose which one to surf." - Jonatan Mattensson

The best thing I can add to this quote is my own endorsement that this is true. The key is to remember you always have a choice. 

You will always have feelings, some good, some bad, some you hope you can keep forever and some you wish had never surfaced.  Feelings may come suddenly or over a period of time, building up until they can no longer be ignored.  Feelings come and go many times a day some noticed and some so fleeting you hardly know they were there. Your size, culture, genetics or life circumstances will not stop feelings from appearing.  Some of these conditions may affect your outlook, but none will eliminate or keep feelings away. 

You can, however, decide which feelings to embrace or hold on to and which ones to just let go.  If you are anything like me, you also know that the choice may differ from day to day.  You may decide it is okay to feel a little sad or disappointed today.  Perhaps something very important to you changed and you need time to grieve or appropriately handle the new reality.  Tomorrow you may decide to look at things from another perspective, allowing only positive, happy feelings to stay.  It doesn't and won't ever be the same everyday.  It is up to you.  Make a choice for you. 

Surf the waves your own way.  Choose to move through life with excitement and joy.  Enjoy the ride.  It is your life. 

A Part of Your Life



 wwwgoodmorningquote.com/letting-go-quotes-images/

"The only thing that makes it a part of your life is that you keep thinking about it."

 

In reviewing a list of quotes, this one stood out for me because I knew it was true.  Recently a series of moments, during what I would call a less than perfect day, left me feeling depressed, frustrated, unhappy and questioning my decision and who I thought I was..  I kept thinking,  about the day, consciously or unconsciously, allowing myself to stay in that same frame of mind, each day getting more depressed and lower in my self-esteem.   

The first thing I had to do was to realize  I was holding on to the experience by thinking and analyzing whether I should or shouldn't feel the way I was. The thing which was triggering my thinking was a dent in my new car.   I couldn't change the dent, but I could change my perspective or thinking about it.  Instead of viewing the dent as a reminder of something wrong, a bad day or unusual choices I needed to allow it to be simply what it was a dent.   I could continue to dwell on all the reasons it had occurred or stop thinking and let it be a moment in life, something that occurred but didn't make a lot of difference as life and time moved on.  Just as the dent was a minor flaw on an otherwise smooth metal surface, so the experience was just a wrinkle in the otherwise smooth flow of good days I had been enjoying and the ones that followed.  

The dent has not disappeared, but my depression, lowered self-esteem and feeling of frustration have.  I no longer dwell on what I should or could have done differently that particular day.  Now, if I happen to notice the dent, it serves as a reminder to let the small things in life be small and enjoy the abundance of good things and wonderful moments I experience everyday. 

The choice is yours. Are you going to allow something negative to remain by continuing to dwell on and think about it or let it go so something better can become a part of your life?