If you ever experience a burst of love from someone: a smile from a stranger, a hug from Mom, write it down. Life is too short to let a moment of love, however fleeting, pass us by. Such beautiful memories can drown out our sorrows. When a negative thought strikes, shift to a beautiful memory. As Napoleon Hill states, in every seed of adversity is an equal opportunity. Similarly, in every sad thought lies a beautiful memory.
Sometimes we might think of how people from our pasts hurt us. Why think such sad thoughts? They only bring us down. They cause us to cling to a small fragment of the truth. The more we cling to a negative fragment of truth, the more our thoughts balloon into monsters. If approached with a positive attitude, that fragment of truth may have taken a beautiful form.
For example, I fear my Mom feels no love for me. I let her down earlier in life when I blamed her for my life issues. And my Mom, like me, had blamed her mom. When my beloved Grandma died, Mom said she felt no love for her mother. But now I feel compelled to stop the cycle. So, I began offering Mom gifts: money, time, a restaurant meal, a barbecue, loving words, only smiles when she angers, but to no avail. So, instead of feeling down, I think of all the beautiful memories I’ve had with Mom. I remember Mom helping me bake peanut butter cookies for my grade two baking contest, which I won. I remember Mom playing the accordion, singing, a tear in her eye, moved by the melody. I remember Mom hugging me close and sharing with me bowls of fresh fruit. I have so many beautiful memories of Mom, they crowd out any sadness.
As another personal example, an enemy turned out to be a gift in my life. He is truly my beloved teacher. He opened up a world of new skills for me, stirred a passion for writing stories, and demonstrated many fine qualities. Instead of cherry picking the worst in someone, why not cherry pick the best? Positive memories bring bliss.
We all, at times, may feel downtrodden by memories. Memories of an ex, of a childhood trauma, of a victimization may come to mind. All of those memories can be replaced by beautiful thoughts. Even the most tragic story has a happy ending, if written in the right mindset.
So, whenever we experience a moment of joy, write it down. Happiness requires we let only beautiful memories pass through the gatekeepers of our minds. And even the slightest joyful thought bears the gift of eternal bliss.
