Attention to “WHAT IS” only creates more of “WHAT IS’

in #life6 years ago (edited)

I felt inspired to share this short story with you today after I read an article yesterday posted by a friend of mine @jaynie a few days ago here on Steemit. It is also in response to a few others I have seen during the course of the week, and in general the theme is about "not coping with life".

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(Pixabay)

The story I am sharing has a simple, yet very important message.
Sometimes it’s the simplest stories that make us ponder the most….


The Story is called "The Black Dot"

One day a professor entered a classroom and asked her students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin.

The professor walked around the classroom and handed out the question papers with the text facing downwards. Once she had handed them all out she asked her students to turn the page and begin. To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions, just a black dot in the center of the page.
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The professor said to everyone’s confusion: - “I want you to write what you see there”. The worried students began to do what they’d been told to do. At the end of the class, the teacher took all the answers and read them aloud in front of the students.

All of them with no exceptions described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet. After all the answers had been read, the classroom was silent, and the professor began to explain. “I am not going to grade you on this test I just wanted to give you something to think about.

No one wrote about the white part of the paper, everyone focused on the black dot, and the same happens in our lives. We have a white paper – many wonderful things we have around us or happen to us but we take them for granted and focus our attention on small dotlike failures and disappointments, the health issues, the money that we need, the luxuries we don’t have, relationship complications, problems with family members, disappointments with friends and so on.

Life is a special gift and we always have reason to celebrate. It is changing and renewing every day. Our friends, jobs, livelihood, love, family, and all the miracles we could see. We need to realise that the dark spots are very small and only few. And yet we allow these to pollute our minds. Take your eyes away from the black spots in your life. Enjoy each one of your blessings each moment that life gives you.


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The lesson:


Take your focus away from the black dots in your life. Remember always that your thoughts create beliefs and these beliefs ultimately create your reality.

Be grateful for everything and all of your blessings, as well as each and every moment that life is giving you. Learn to be aware of your thoughts at all times and watch how your reality shifts. Be happy and strive to live a life filled with love!"


If you would like to read the story
which inspired me to write this please visit the link below: -
https://steemit.com/life/@jaynie/fnck-the-war-inside-our-heads


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As humans we are wired to notice things that stand out, a light in darkness, some chaos in the order, the tiny crack in a glass window, etc

It can be a challenge to keep our eyes on the things that matter and that we value most.

indeed it can!

I love the story of the black dot. It is indeed very true that we tend to focus on the problems too much that we forget all the other greatness around .

yes we do that all the time and we have to practice how "not to do that"

Hey, this is a good story, and you tied in a good lesson too. So gonna remember it.

I've seen another version of this, and I was part of the "class" too. A trainer pulled up a slide with four mathematical equations, one of them was incorrect, and asked us what we think about them. All of us, me included, was quick to point out the incorrect one, and the trainer, Vince was his name, asked "How come no one commented on the three I got right?"

Some would argue it's due to our upbringing and education system that trained us to spot the error, robbing us of our ability to demonstrate gratitute. What do you think?

I agree, I dont believe we are born with an inherent flaw to see the world in a negative light, we are tought this from a very young age! parents, media as well as school all do their part. But as we get older and become aware we can change our outlook on life to a more positive one.

@claudiaz Reading that made the hair on my arms stand up! Because WHY!!!!!! Why are people so CONDITIONED to look at that bloody black dot!!!! Its crazy!!! and VERY sad!!!

Such a wonderfully inspiring piece xxx

And thank you for the mention too xxxxxxxxx
Definitely going to resteem this just now when Steemit is a little more lively xxx

MWAH!!!! Lots of love!

I believe we learn this from a very young age, our parents tell us money doesn't grow on trees - well it does if you believe it, our teachers tell us we have learn and study hard to make something of our lives all the while destroying our inspiration, enthusiasm and creativity, so we come to believe these things. But now is the time to "unlearn" this cr*p and change our focus altogether. Thats the day our lives change!

Beautifully put!!!!! - I am SOOOOOO glad that my son attends a school that is AGAINST this kind of mindset. They harness each childs assets... whatever they may be, which is PIVOTAL in growing individuals that look at the white space and not the opposite! :)

It's so true ~"Life is a special gift and we always have reason to celebrate. It is changing and renewing every day. Our friends, jobs, livelihood, love, family, and all the miracles we could see".
Thanks a lot for posting this.

@nismhd you are very welcome, we all need to be reminded of this occasionally!

Yeah. Thanks for that.

great story! this is something I try to be conscious of everyday, though I end up just splitting down the middle by being grateful AND critical hahaha. Gotta work on that! thank you for sharing!

you are very welcome, leave the critical by the wayside it does not serve you well. With a bit of practise you will get it right!

A wonderful lesson. I often dwell on something unimportant, it happens) But I also try to enjoy what I have.

nice, I know we all do that from time to time, just as long as we dont do it too often

@claudiaz,

Enjoyed your post.

"Thought are things, very powerful things!"

Namaste,

JaiChai

I agree, and more powerful than we realize!

Wonderful story, and so true! Thank you for sharing!

you are very welcome @kimmiecfields

Haha ! I was precisely thinking of all the wonderful things I could write and paint in the blank page all around the place lived empty by the black point, and how at the end I would transform this black point to a flower with pretty colorful petals, which would make wonder at the end, looking at the whole paper, where did this black point disappear ? Did it really exist in fact..? ^_^
And ~ Oh my Goodness ~ this is exactly the same I'm doing in my life, I'm not giving a care to things that goes wrong and I focus to all the wonderful that pops up....it's just a matter of directing our attention on pleasant rather on unpleasant, being trusty rather than worried, choosing to paint in colors rather to paint it black and dark...
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exactly, thanks for visiting @barbara-orenya

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