Where You Place Your Gaze

What happens to us in our day to day lives is greatly influenced by the way we see the world. It’s called general perception. How do you perceive the world around you? Is it a safe place? A kind place? An abundant place? Or is it mean, dangerous, where everyone is out to get you?

I try to see the Universe as on my side. Most spiritual traditions do, and I consider myself a pretty spiritual person. I am a much happier person when I see the world this way. I feel safer. I am kinder to those around me. I feel more abundant.

In a time when the country is in turmoil and the economy is crashing, it is hard to feel that way sometimes. I have to be conscious of what I think, of the chatter that goes on in my head. I have to make the effort to see the abundance in the world around me.

I live on a half an acre in the piedmont of the Smoky Mountains. It’s not a lot of land, but it isn’t a postage stamp either. I grow things on it. All kinds of things. I have fig and mulberry trees. I have different kinds of herbs. I haven’t had to buy rosemary or sage for years now, my crops are so abundant. I have beautiful flowers. I’ve recently made violet bitters from the wood violets that are strewn around the property.  The land is abundant with its gifts.

By pretending to be an urban farmer, I have a chicken coop with seven chickens. They produce eggs on a regular basis and make me happy just being there. I love hearing their clucks and purrs as I approach the coop each morning to check on the hens. Again, they are a symbol of the abundance of the Universe with the gifts that they give me each week.

I don’t have an overly large house, but it is more than enough for my family to live in. We have enough room for everyone to have their own personal space. Everyone is comfortable. Everyone is warm. (Relatively. My family likes the temperature much colder than I do, so I am rather chilled in my house most of the year, but a sweatshirt and wooly socks usually help with that.)

With many friends surrounding me, I am well loved. They fill my time and heart whenever I need them. When I am down or in need of support, they are only a phone call away. I have lots of people who would come to my aid if I asked for it (though I rarely do, one of the many things I am working on). The abundance of love in my life is another gift that I cannot help but see.

The Universe gives you what you focus on. In fact, the ancient Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “You become what you pay attention to. If you, yourself, don’t choose what thoughts and images you expose yourself to, someone else will.” He was right. 

It’s all about perception. I choose to see the world around me as an inherently good place, an inherently happy place. I try to be an inherently happy person. It doesn’t always work, mind you. I get upset. I lose my cool. I even battle depression. But underneath it all, I constantly tell myself that the Universe is a good place, filled with goodness, and it wants that goodness for me.