When to make the internal shift

We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are. - Anaïs Nin

There is a story they tell of two dogs.
Both at separate times walk into the same room.
One comes out wagging his tail while the other comes out growling.
A woman watching this goes into the room to see
what could possibly make one dog so happy and the other so mad.
To her surprise, she finds a room filled with mirrors.
The happy dog found  a thousand happy dogs looking back at him
while the angry dog saw only angry dogs growling back at him.
What you see in the world around you is a reflection of who you are.   - Author unknown

I love this story. It makes a very valid point. Though, I would like to clarify that what you see in the world around you is a reflection of who you are as a human with an ego. Who you really are is your Soul/Essence.  Most all of us wear the tinted glasses colored by our beliefs and thoughts. Every event and situation that occurs in life is neutral - it is not bad, it is not good - it just is. A situation takes on meaning for us when our thoughts, beliefs, emotions and conditioning define it for us. Hence, as Anaïs Nin says, we do not see things as they are, we see them as we are. Most of the time we are not even aware of how we're seeing a situation as we are conditioned to react. The unpleasant and hard times in life are our greatest teachers. They let us know that something is not right, not aligned since we are experiencing misery. They are an indicator of a lesson for soul growth. We can ignore the lesson, dwell on the negatives of it, or we can use that lesson to learn and grow.

Your perception of the world is dictated by what you hold internally. As within, so without. If you see the world as a horrible place where people are cruel and someone's always trying to screw you over - it's not the external world that needs to be changed - it's you, at an internal level, that needs to change. To see change in your life, you have to shift your perception. This is easier said than done. To change your perception, you have to first become aware of it. You have to figure out how and why you even think or feel the way you do. Then, you have to shift from the old thought patterns to new ones. I know very well that this is no easy task. But, if you want your life to change - you have to change. Your emotions are the perfect guide to lead you to what your thoughts and beliefs are (which are often subconscious/unconscious). Then, you need to choose new beliefs.

How we see the outer world is a reflection of what we have going on internally. If you don't like what you're seeing in your life, it's time to make the internal shift. The next time you're in an unpleasant situation or find yourself reacting negatively to something, try to stop yourself from automatically reacting and ask -  what is this situation trying to tell me? What can I learn from it? What beliefs, thoughts and or emotions are coming up that are coloring my perspective of this situation? How can I see it differently? As you begin to practice shifting your perception, your life will most definitely start to reflect that change. It's how we grow. It's how we begin to take those tinted glasses off.

Love, Adrienne :)