Learning from the cafeteria...

Cafeterias provide a wide variety of foods. When I go down a cafeteria line, I look at the different foods and think, "This looks good; that not so much; over there --- maybe."  

I make choices based on what tastes good to me and what suits my constitution. If something doesn't taste good to me, or if something doesn't agree with my stomach, I simply pass it by and choose food that's more suitable for me.

Perhaps we can learn something about life by reflecting on the cafeteria line.

At any given moment, there are almost limitless things available for us to focus our attention on. We can focus on the fire in California, the tornado in the Midwest, the floods along the coast, a beautiful sunrise or sunset, the flower in front of us, the compliment someone gave us yesterday, or the fond feeling we have when all the family is together. It's absolutely true that we can choose what we're going to give our attention to.

What we give our attention to will also determine how we feel inside --- anxious, angry, sad, peaceful, joyous, optimistic.

Based on this cafeteria model why not choose from among the dozens of possible focus points something that uplifts our disposition, something that will activate good feelings?

We can choose our thoughts just like we choose food from a cafeteria. Of thoughts we can ask, "How does thinking about this make me feel? Does it make me feel better?" If the answer is "No" we can try another one. Eventually we'll come up with something to focus on that's agreeable to us, something that suits our constitution, something that makes us feel better than that other one.

There's nothing wrong with choosing our thoughts based on how they make us feel. It's a mental discipline and to put it simply, it feels good to feel better. Why wouldn't we choose to think about things that help us feel better?