Thinking Out Loud: Actions and Reactions
Recently, my main focus in life has largely been on my actions and my reactions. I have been giving a lot of thought to my karma and the accumulative karma of the world. I’ve been thinking on how much negativity is broadcasted on a day to day basis and how it seems to me such little light is being shed on the positivity of the world. It’s on the news, in my Facebook feed, in conversations I overhear while I’m out... it’s virtually inescapable on certain days. Which leads me to the question of why?
We may have very little or even no power over certain situations that arise in our lives on a day to day basis, we are however completely in control of how we choose to react to these situations. It serves no one and changes nothing to respond in a negative manner, to any situation, even a situation that is itself negative. The way I see it is the only way to beat a negative cycle is to face it with positivity and optimism, we cannot change the things that happen but by changing our reactions to those of positivity, we in that moment begin to stop the negative cycle that was in motion and begin a new karmic cycle. One of positivity and love. There is so much negativity in the world these days, in people’s actions and reactions. Change starts within us as an individuals. Each day we have the choice to react negatively therefore adding to the negative vibrations of our world or to chose positive reactions and contribute to the healing and uplifting.
It is not an easy thing to do, in fact there are many moments in life where it feels nearly impossible to have a positive outlook. It takes practice and perseverance, it is only able to happen when you are continuously staying conscious of not only both your actions and your reactions but the emotions that arise within your being moment to moment. It forces you to take a step back before you make a decision, it forces you to look inside of yourself and at each situation with the question of “how will the way I react effect not only myself but those around me?”.
When someone does something that upsets me in that moment, is it worth reacting to the situation with the anger I feel in that exact moment in time? Will that reaction bring forth more consequences and feelings of anger? If so, why react with that anger? Why continue the cycle? Seems to me it is much easier to find that control, to overcome in that moment my feeling of anger and try to find light in a situation that seems to only be dark.
A small example would be my day a few days back. I woke up at 6am to return my rental car and be to my mechanic by 7am because I was told if I got there early enough by 10am I would be back in my Jeep and on my way... 10am rolled around and they had not even begun working on my Jeep, when I asked questions about it and they finally took a look at my paperwork again I was then told that I was mislead the day before and that morning. I was informed that not only was the the work that needed to be done going to take at least 5 hours but that they also wouldn’t be getting to it that day. In that moment I wanted to give these guys a good piece of my mind, instead I simply explained how I had been having to rent a car to get around the island because I live up a very rough hill in the middle of nowhere and trying to find rides multiple times a day was not an option. I told them it was extremely important I have my Jeep back because it was beginning to cost me much more than I could afford, hoping they could sympathize... and you know what? They did. The owner of the shop actually had an extra beat up car that he lent to me for that day and the following day while they fixed my Jeep so I would no longer have to have the extra expense of renting a car. He then also took $200 off of the labor.
By being in control of my emotions, my reactions to a situation that made me feel anger, my positivity brought forth more positivity because light attracts light.
This situation also speaks volumes to the character of the island I have found myself on.
Island life comes with its limitations and inconveniences, we are out here on our little rock with very few natural resources and are constantly dependent on the arrival of our cargo ships. Things take a little longer to get done and some things actually just never do get done. Our roads all full of pot holes and I’m pretty sure there will always be areas from here on out with old down power lines. But every day, everywhere I go, whether it be the post office, the beach, or just walking down the road, every person you pass will acknowledge your presence with a “good morning, good afternoon or good evening”. Every business I have ever entered here has welcomed me in this way and always with a smile. Life is easy here, people don’t try to complicate things. It truly is “no worries”. Every single day something happens that makes me feel not only happy but proud to be living on and a functioning part of this island. The people here want to help you, they do not want to watch you struggle or so you down and out. The spirit of this island is one of light and I believe it’s because of that I have recently found myself so focused and conscientious of the karma I am contributing to the greater karma of the island.