You carry your world within you

By Ellen Shuck

Do you perceive what occurs in your life as reality or do you judge it by your inner vision of your world? Or do you take a large population of people in a room and ask them their opinion of a topic or subject? Will their estimation or evaluation be the same as yours, similar or entirely different? There are as many different opinions and judgments as there are people in the world.

It's no wonder so many fail to live in harmony. You talk with someone and you seemingly agree with their views. Yet, there must be differences you don't see, because God made everyone to be an original. Just as no two snowflakes are exactly alike, so it is with individuals. Psalm 139 explains our specialness when it states, "You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, because I'm wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know" (Psalm 139:13-14).

If you still can't see yourself as being special, read the whole Psalm 139 in the Bible. It clearly points out the awesomeness of God's wonderful artistry, the beauty that's within everyone. Your uniqueness is, indeed, needed to make a world. No person is without a personal gift only he can contribute.

If you can imagine the many diversified views of what's present, you, too, will be amazed, as I am. I delved into my mind and heart to find what my vision was of my emotional, physical, spiritual and aesthetic world. You can make your outer garments as you choose. It depends on what you make them to be in your mind and heart -- in your personal sanctuary -- your real world.

I live in a beautiful, magnificent world and I'm often labeled as possessing a Pollyanna attitude, failing to see reality. Seeing the good in people and attempting to improve my surroundings is always a joy. One needs never be bored. God plays an important part in that portrait I carry within me. If you can do nothing to pacify your lackadaisical mood, look within your psyche. Just think, imagine what's pleasant, build a house, ride a horse -- whatever you can visualize, perform it within your mind. Determine to be happy. Regardless how glum the moment looks on the outside, you can live in a beautiful garden within your mind and soul. This isn't running away from your problems. It's realizing what's really important and that all will eventually pass anyway. You will take with you only what's inside your soul.

Thinking negatively in any situation merely adds to the dilemma. Worrying only makes your challenges seem insurmountable and you carry them with you constantly. If you keep your attention on what's good and positive, you will aid in ending whatever it is you're experiencing that's undesirable. What you think bears fruit. If you plant beautiful and hopeful plants in that personal garden of yours, you will receive like results. So lift up those thoughts and reap what they bring.

Have you ever seen corn growing and producing peas? Neither does cotton grow from a bean seed. Likewise each thought produces what it is. As the Bible scripture says, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). You and only you determine what kind of world you envision. This is not to say some have fewer challenges and problems than others, but there are also those who you can question from where their persistence, courage and optimistic outlook came. In the minds of most, their life was indescribably hard. Their secret is what they hold within. You can have it all and be miserable and you can have little and be joyful. As my mother said, "Your life (world) is what you make it."

What does your inner world consist of? You can make it what you want. Try it and see!