Around EarthKeeper's Campfire
                  11/18/00
    There's one thing about it. We can all be who or what we want to be. There's really no
such thing as being so trapped that we cannot change or move on. Really, there are so
many of us want to be somewhere else, have a better job, do something different or be a
better person. There is no rock solid reason that exists that we can't do all these. We have
the ability to change what we are or the situations we're in at any given moment, but
making up our mind to do it is the stumbling block that most often trips us up.

    It is all too easy to sit around and think of hundreds reasons and excuses for not being
or having what we wish and then decide that there are too many odds against us.

    "If only we had more money. My job sucks! If only I'd gone to college or taken that
opportunity four years ago. Life is such a rut. My spouse won't let me.”

    We've all either said or heard someone say some of these things at one time or another.
Rarely ever are there too many odds. We are never trapped. That is just a frame of mind
which has come from this society we live in. We are in the drivers seat. No one is going to
place a silver platter in our laps and say, "Here it is!". We are the only ones who have the
ability to take charge of our lives and steer it in the direction in which we want it to go. A
very wise man once told me that if I didn't like the world I lived in, then create the one I
wanted.

    What we are at present is a result of every experience, situation and decision that has
occurred during our lives. We have been through a process that has molded us into our
present state, and we had very much to do with getting here, whether we like the idea or
not.

    "Oh, no! If I had my choices, I would have more money, a better job. I would feel
better about myself."

    Well, like it or not, we were sitting behind the wheel when we pulled up in our present
driveway. If we wish to change in some manner, it is the reverse process. We must take
the process into our  own  hands.  We  must  take responsibility for our own lives and take
control of the situations we currently are in and enter into in the future. We must not let
others make our decisions for us, but instead make them for ourselves. Then the
experiences become more what we want them to be. We can decide to change our
attitudes, our lifestyles, our relationships, our world, while for the most part, steering our
own course.

    To a great extent, we think our own reality into existence and our actions reflect the
way we think. In other words, if we always think negatively, we usually act negatively,
then mostly negative results occur. And the opposite is also equally true. Did you ever
wonder why some people are successful at most anything they try and others are not, even
though they all had an equal chance and opportunity? Well, positive thoughts followed by
positive action is usually followed by... positive results. This is not the case 100% of the
time, but usually when a positive thinker fails, they will see the result as a lesson about
what they done wrong and apply that knowledge on the next try, thus increasing the
chances of success.

    A  negative  thinker  is  generally defeated from the start. When failure occurs, they
figure they had known all along that they couldn't do it. Don't sneer at the old saying, that
says to think positive. If you think you can or you think you can't, you are absolutely
correct either way. The old adage that like attracts like also holds more water than we
might think. If you want love, then project love. Smile and someone will smile back at
you. Do someone a favor and they will likely return it someday. Be nice and others will be
nice to you, and if they don't, you have projected something positive into their life that
could influence them later. Good or bad, your actions and attitude in life are an investment
in your future, the returns will be in proportion to what you have invested.

    It is strange that there are so many who are sad, miserable, depressed, bored and caught
in a rut, when it is just as easy or easier to be happy, productive and to have your life on
the track and headed where you want it. We can't always have all we want or the way we
want it, but we can sure go a long way toward achieving that goal if we decide to get
started. It won't be instant and will take hard work, but the results could very well be
surprising. It isn't whether you win or lose, in reality, what matters most is how you play
it.

    Did I hear someone mumble something about all this being hard work? Yeah! That's
another story.

RavenHawk (c) Copyright 2000

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