I’m sitting here at the dining room table, looking out at the snow that has already accumulated (see shadows at bottom of the doors), watching the birds furiously come and go amid this blizzard …. thinking “At some point, I’m going to have to go out and shovel all of this!”
Emma Curtis Hopkins, an early feminist and one of the founders of the “New Thought” movement taught her students to always think: “There is good here, and I demand to see it!”
As a deeply spiritual philosopher and theologian, she believed this to be true of every experience in life … no matter how trivial the experience, or how tragic. Another of her teachings was “There is no spot where God is not!”
Ever since I was introduced to her work and teachings, this notion has fascinated me. I have been through lots of experiences that felt awful at the time. My feelings ranged from sadness, fear and rage, to profoundly deep feelings of loss, regret, shame, humiliation and embarrassment. Sometimes when I am reminded of one of those experiences, the old feelings return as if it was only yesterday. At the time, all I could see was the “awfulness” of it all.
Looking back, I can see how there was a seed of “good” in each of these. Something good happened to me that would not have happened, if I hadn’t gone through those times. Admittedly, I couldn’t see it then, but as time has passed and my life has evolved, I can see the good.
Now, I play a game with myself: Instead of playing the “Ain’t it Awful!” game, I play the “I Wonder What the Good is in This and How Long It Will Take Me to Find It?”
It’s a harder game to play, but much more fun. And isn’t that what life is about at its best … playing games and having fun? Most all of us would do well to “work” less and “play” more.
So, here’s my invitation: the next time you look at your life and think, “Well, this is awful!” … or something to that effect, play a different game. Be curious about “the good” that is hidden somewhere in the midst of what outwardly appears to be “awful.” Play with the idea that there IS something good in this. Sometimes it won’t take long to come up with some possibilities … other times it may take months or years … but persist!
Let you Inner Magnificence bring its light to the situation … Just as surely as there is Magnificence in you, there is Magnificence in everything … although admittedly, sometimes it is cleverly disguised.
Play the game of life looking for the good! To the extent you do, you will feel better about being you … I promise.
In the meantime, I’m going to bundle up and shovel snow … looking for the Good!
P.S. Let me know how it works for you. I’d love to hear your story.
