January 12, 2010
Today’s application has to do with widening the hoop and getting a broader perspective…
In terms of the economy right now and what’s happening in your personal life… Sometimes we get caught up in our own little world, and the world gets so small… Especially when we get into our problems and we can’t see any solution… We’re just engulfed in our problems. We’re overwhelmed with stress, we’re walking with anxiety, and we’re shaking inside, we don’t know what to do about it and the world just gets smaller and smaller… All of a sudden we find ourselves irritated by everything and everybody…
What has happened is, we’ve lost perspective… To get a new perspective we widen the hoop and we think about: if you live in America and you were born in America, think about how fortunate you are and the amenities you get to have in your life… Like a vehicle, food and shelter, and a nice home, good clothes… People in Third World countries spend their whole day looking for a meal, maybe even miss a meal a day, and they do this every day, seven days a week. You know, we complain about going to work, we complain about having to work so much to pay our bills, that we’re not getting paid enough, and they are people out there begging for food… begging for money to buy food… no clothes, no shoes…
We need to get this perspective. It isn’t about being imbalanced; it’s about creating balance. It isn’t about feeling self-righteous. It’s about, when we get caught up in our own little world, finding a way to breathe a little bit. And remember that everyone struggles… On page 114 in the 12 Steps &12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous it states in there that “our basic troubles are the same as everyone else’s.” It is such an important principle to remember when you are feeling the anguish of life. It is important to just breathe and realize that your troubles are the same as everyone else’s. When you feel that anxiety and you’ve gotten caught up in your emotions, and the world is just getting tight and it’s hard to breathe, you have to recognize that you’ve lost perspective. And, it’s very easy to get perspective. Go on the internet; look up some Third World countries… Find a way just for the purpose of perspective… Maybe send a dollar to a charity…
But, widen the hoop. Think about what other people are doing and then widen the hoop further. Imagine your planet from space and realize this planet has been unfolding for five billion years… In the essence of time what are our problems about based on the unfolding of this planet at five billion years? They mean nothing… Widen that hoop… People struggle every day… Smile and laugh… This is the life you have… Don’t wait for tomorrow. We can’t afford to be stressed today… Laugh today… Get perspective… Make it a point to see how other people feel… The struggles they go through. Be empathetic…
We sit here sometimes and we lose perspective… It’s always out there… There are people who are living a comfortable life who don’t stress out… Remember that too because you’ve got to see everything. There are people living better than us and worse than us. We’re trying to get balance. Widen the hoop… Consider and ask God to show you that you’ve lost perspective and ask God and let God know that you’ve lost perspective and to show you how to see those things to uplift yourself.
Much Love,
K.C.
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