Yes, But Are You Happy? -

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Be Transformed

Have you ever seen someone change literally overnight? We’re all familiar with the stories of Ebenezer Scrooge and mean old Mr. Grinch. Both had amazing transformations. But come on now, that’s fiction and fantasy. That doesn’t happen in real life, does it?

Well I can’t vouch for the three ghosts nor did my heart grow three sizes bigger. It didn’t happen that way for me. Actually, I’m not really sure what transpired exactly. All I can tell you is that I certainly had an epiphany resulting in a complete 180° turnabout. The change was as quick and simple as flipping a light switch.

I Decided

That’s it. That’s all it took. I decided to change my act. Ancient wisdom suggests,

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

Lately I’ve been spewing out toxic waste and I realized everything around me was dying.

Hocus, Pocus or Is It Focus?

: Image by Koshyk via Flickr

OK, before I get too hard on myself or give you the impression that I am some kind of demonic monster, let’s say that I was going through a rough period of time. Ever have one of those? Of course, we all do.

It could be for an hour, a day, a week, a month or even longer. It doesn’t matter.

It could be for whatever reason; your pet died, your spouse left, you lost your job. It doesn’t matter.

Those are the ‘conformations’ of the world. Mere appearances. The more you bemoan ‘what is’, the more of that ‘what is’ you will receive.

Think about the last time you were in a funk. The more you thought about the ‘problem’, the worse it got. Am I right?

Our ancestors understood,

“For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” Matthew 25:29

Even when you think about ‘solutions’, you still have the problem lurking in the back of your mind, super-charged with all its negative emotions, ready and waiting to sabotage your most creative quick fix. That’s why I recommended the ‘perfect escape’ in yesterday’s post.

It’s a fact that your mind can only hold one thought at a time. Sure, it may seem that we can multi-task our thoughts; they can change back and forth in nano-seconds. However, our predecessors knew the truth when they said,

“No one can serve two masters;” Matthew 6:24

Getting back to the perfect escape, it’s all about changing your focus. Move towards the things you want instead of running away from the things you don’t want. When Jesus was questioned about his methods when he assisted in healing he explained,

“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk ‘?” Luke 5:23

Go and Tell No One

I completely understand where this admonishment is coming from. I had sent Maggie an email during the day detailing my magnificent metamorphosis. We discussed it further that evening as the main topic of our nightly pillow talk.

: Image via Wikipedia

Now Maggie is a gifted communicator and she has supported me in most of my hair-brained ‘experiments’ as I like to call them. Some days I would be relaxed around the house, and other days I would be extremely rigid and controlling, just to see how my family would react. I was curious about the effects of being too soft as opposed to being too strict. Unfortunately, my step-daughters were the hapless guinea pigs.

I could still detect a slight disbelief in how anyone could change so radically in such a short period. After all, I had spent most of the past week in a foul mood. Now suddenly there was this ‘new and improved’ version of Russy chatting with her. There was an air of, “Right… let’s see how long THIS is going to last.”

I smiled inside because I already expected this reaction. You could say I had it coming. Instead of pleading my case I simply said, “Watch me.”

Maggie’s main concern was that she wanted to be sure I was OK. You see, she has been a ‘pleaser’ all her life, changing herself for others in order to make them happy. She knew from heartbreaking experience that the only person you can make happy is yourself. I had to assure her that I was making these changes for me. That way I wouldn’t burn myself out – again – when others failed to meet my standards and expectations.

Feel Better Sooner

As I write this post, it is now over 24 hours since my miraculous conversion. Everyone went to bed happy last night. We all woke up and actually had some lively banter at the breakfast table. THAT hasn’t happened in quite some time.

Maggie and the girls are watching… very cautiously.

I hope you’ll continue to watch, too.

I have to tell you, I really feel so much better… you gotta Love That Feeling!

Now what about you?

Are you ready to decide. Feeling better is only a decision away.