The Blackboard of Your Life
Have you ever thought of your life as a chalk board?
One on which you consciously or unconsciously write those messages which govern you, your choices, and your behavior?
Do you realize that you also hold the chalk and the eraser in your hand?
You don’t have to be a “victim” of circumstances.
What you are currently experiencing you don’t need to continue to experience, but the hand that holds the eraser must do its neutralizing work.
And how do you do that?
You can erase negative thoughts from your consciousness by pouring in an opposite thought. This new thought meets the other and can neutralize its effect.
It rubs it out just as we rub a chalk mark off a board.
Someone once said that there are no victims, only volunteers, This may seem harsh, but we do choose how we respond to the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
As Victor Frankl said,
The reminder that we can choose how we experience our life is powerful.
Cancer did not define me but gave me an opportunity to relish my life.
Divorce did not define me but gave me clarity on what I wanted in a relationship.
Bankruptcy did not define me but gave me the “clean slate” that enabled me to learn from my mistakes and create a new financial future.
“I will blot out their transgressions and remember them no longer against them” was written by one who saw the board, the chalk and the eraser.
Do you see your board, chalk and eraser?
3 Comments
Thank you Pat, for the words of wisdom.
Barbara, thanks for commenting! I love finding clear ideas and sharing them!
Pat, this is a powerful lesson. I first learned it about 35 years ago when my husband at the time totally shocked me by wanting a divorce. It wasn’t what I wanted and I didn’t understand how it could just happen totally beyond my control. I felt powerless and devastated. Then one day, (not sure where the idea originated) but I decided that although I couldn’t stop it from happening, I could decide how I was going to handle the situation. From that moment on, I was not longer a victim of circumstance. I went back to college, finished an edorsement in Special Education, started teaching, eventually met an fell in love with my current husband. From the moment I made the decision it wasn’t what life throws at us, but how we choose to react that matters, I had my power back. It became an exciting, exhilarating experience! Thanks for reminding me of this thought!