Happy New Year! I like to think of the New Year as a new blank sheet of paper or a fresh beautiful blanket of snow…a clean slate ready for a new start. Others may see a blank sheet of paper as something scary and new snow as missed school days, annoying traffic and parking problems and a soon-to-be yellow, dirty mess.
The mind generates all different ways for us to see, and frame, the world around us.
There is a tiny book that I read many years ago with an interesting concept. I actually was on a long driving trip with a group of friends and I ended up reading the entire book aloud on the way home from our adventure. It’s called Zen and the Art of Happiness.
The main concept of the book is quite simple and revolves around one easy question.
“What if every event that befalls me is the best possible event that could happen?”
Hmmm…really every event. As in EVERY event.
Now this is different from the idea of trying to make the best of every situation or seeing the good in something that feels really bad.
This is a different idea. The idea that every event that befalls you is absolutely the best possible event that could occur—that there is no other event imaginable that could benefit you to any greater degree.
Yes, it’s a new way of thinking…and a radical one at that. It’s way beyond a resolution to get up earlier or skip the sugar in your coffee.
Are you in?