Trick Questions

#ThoughtHealing Quote for the Week: “Life is simple. You just have to stop trying to figure it out.” Marty Rubin

Question: What do you do with a blue monster?

Answer: Cheer him up!

This is one of my favorite jokes, told to me by a former co-worker over 30 years ago. Obviously, I’ve never forgotten it.

Why? Because it cheers me up, every time, even when I’m not blue. And because it reminds me how easy it is to make things far more complicated than they really are or need to be. After all, the answer is pretty obvious, isn’t it? It’s not a trick question, but I’ve never found a single person who was able to answer it (including me).

(I also want to point out that this same co-worker told me another joke: Question: What’s orange and smells like carrots? Answer: Bunny farts. While rabbits are one of my most sacred animal guides, somehow bunny farts don’t lend themselves to thoughts about personal transformation. Although, I have to admit, I still think this joke is funny, too.)

Muhammad Yunus said, “Things are never as complicated as they seem. It is only our arrogance that prompts us to find unnecessarily complicated answers to simple problems.”

I’ve shared many times that I have a tendency to overcomplicate things. I like to think it’s a result of my natural abilities as a project manager and business process engineer, rather than arrogance. However, I’m pretty sure that there’s a healthy dose of that character flaw mixed into this as well.

I recently took one of those Facebook quizzes to determine what type of “seeker” I am. My results showed that I am a seeker of knowledge, that I need to know all answers to everything. NOW.

Clearly, I already knew this.

One other thing I already know is that, when we pass over to the Other Side, we will have access to the Akashic Records, which holds all knowledge of all things. The Akashic Records or "The Book of Life" can be equated to the universe's super computer system. It is this system that acts as the central storehouse of all information for every individual who has ever lived upon the earth. More than just a reservoir of events, the Akashic Records contain every deed, word, feeling, thought, and intent that has ever occurred at any time in the history of the world.

As a seeker of knowledge, I’m really looking forward to browsing this cosmic supercomputer because I have more than a few questions.

However, I must admit that there are times when I’d like to know the answer to some great mystery that I’m witnessing right now. Not only am I arrogant, I’m also impatient. So given that I plan on living many more years, and given that I am a seeker of all knowledge and wisdom, I’m afraid there are times when I can’t wait that long for the answer.

Take, for example, someone who drives well below the speed limit on a road with no passing lanes, but plenty of places to pull over—and a string of cars piled up behind, whose drivers are praying that the person will suddenly become enlightened, look in the rearview mirror, see all of us behind, and courteously PULL OVER.

These are times when I want to follow the person until they finally do pull over somewhere, park, and get out of their cars. I want to go up to that person and say, “I believe that, in the end, the Akashic records will be open to us and I will know the mysteries of all things. But given that I plan on living many more years, and given that I am a seeker of all knowledge and wisdom, I’m afraid I can’t wait that long. So let me ask you this: Why didn’t you simply pull over?”

This doesn’t seem like a trick question, does it? Perhaps some darker force is at work here? Somehow I doubt it.

Alice Roosevelt Longworth said, “I have a simple philosophy: Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Scratch where it itches.” I might add, pull over when you’re holding everyone up.

And, don’t forget: the next blue monster you run into, just remember to cheer him up!

Think about it!

And, as always, remember this: It’s NEVER too late to be what you might have been!

Want to know more about transforming limited thoughts and beliefs into limitless possibilities? Check out my Examine–Envision–Emerge Personal Transformation Book Series. Each book explores a particular aspect of thought healing. Find yours online at your favorite retailer today!

Dance Moves

#ThoughtHealing Quote for the Week: “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” George Eliot

Here’s your two-minute history lesson for the day: George Eliot was the male pen name of Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880). She was an English novelist, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She is the author of seven novels, including Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Middlemarch (1872), and Daniel Deronda (1876), most of them set in provincial England and known for their realism and psychological insight. Middlemarch is considered one of the greatest novels in the English language. George Elliot used a male pen name to ensure her works would be taken seriously. Female authors were published under their own names during Eliot's life, but she wanted to escape the stereotype of women only writing lighthearted romances.

I first came across George Eliot while in college. I was an English major, and my plan was to become a college professor specializing in Victorian literature.

Fast-forward to now, and, clearly, I ended up on a different path (another story for another day).

But, I never forgot this quote. In fact, this sentiment has, over time, become my personal motto as well as my business’s tagline.

Next month, I turn 61. Cora Harvey Armstrong said, “Inside every older lady is a younger lady wondering what the hell happened.” Truer words were never spoken.

I remember my former mother-in-law once saying to me, “One day, you get up and leap out of bed, ready to begin the day’s events. Then, you suddenly notice that the only thing that has sprung out of bed is your boundless spirit. You look back and realize that your body is still lying there, trying to roll out of bed without groaning, and hoping not to fall over in the process.”

She and Cora must have been BFFs.

Bette Davis acidly observed, “Old age ain't no place for sissies.” I’d be lying if I told you that I disagreed with her. And, please, don’t try assuring me that 61 isn’t “old.” Try convincing my knees of that.

Of course, by now you’re probably wondering when the #ThoughtHealing part of this blog begins.

Hillel the Elder said, “I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing.”

On the cusp of 61, I totally get the “get up, walk, fall down” part. But, like Hillel, I try to focus on the dancing. Because it really IS never too late to learn a new step, acquire a new skill, pick up a new taste in literature, set a new goal. Cross off something on your bucket list—and then add three new things to it.

Maybe even become a college professor specializing in Victorian literature.

I keep a journal, plus I have a daily diary that I like to enter the little things in, like when the meadowlarks return each spring or when the first geese begin their annual migration in the fall. My current daily diary actually ends on January 1, 2017. On the first day of this new year, I turned to that page and wrote this, “My new life looks nothing like it did one year ago today (written on January 1, 2016).”

And while I don’t know quite yet what that will mean or how I might want to manifest it, I do know this: truer words were never spoken.

Think about it!

And, as always, remember this: It’s NEVER too late to be what you might have been!

Want to know more about transforming limited thoughts and beliefs into limitless possibilities? Check out my Examine–Envision–Emerge Personal Transformation Book Series. Each book explores a particular aspect of thought healing. Find yours online at your favorite retailer today!