A pay check comes in the mail for $5000 dollars. To a man who usually receives a check for $1500 dollars, this is a lot of money. He is going to experience feelings of happiness, and excitement. If this $5000 check came to a man who usually receives a check for $20,000, he would experience some feelings of panic and anger.
This scenario is a good example of the law of relativity. The law that an object, like a paycheck holds no good or bad value, it is the good or bad emotion that we attach to that object that creates how we feel about it? Confused?
Here's another example you might relate to more. The person in this story will remain nameless (and he may or may not be my husband...I love you honey!! Note: I got this nameless person's permission to share this story =) A man was driving down the road. The driver of the white pick-up truck ahead of him was driving a good 10 miles an hour under the speed limit. This evoked feelings are impatience, anger and annoyance. Which lead to tail-gating, frustrated phrases and gestures.
Now, let's think...NOTHING that this man could have done could change how fast or slow the driver was going. The POWER to do so was completely outside of himself. The fact that the driver was going so slow was just like the $5000 pay check, it was what it was.
When we become aware that this law is at work in our lives, it allows us to see things differently. We come to see clearly that the power to alter the things that "just are" (like the slow driver or the pay check) are completely outside of ourselves. We come to understand how futile it is to waste time and energy on things that are outside of our control. We in turn see the great value and benefit of the power inside of ourselves. The power to ACT, not REACT.
Instead of getting angry and acting as if the slow driver was deliberately driving slow just to annoy the man, he could have turned and taken a different route, or turned up the radio a little louder and sang along to the song. Or turn off the radio all together and engage in a conversation with his passengers.
What does this have to do with JOY? What happens to us internally when we understand that we can CHOOSE JOY and that we don't have to wait around for JOY to find us? How would your life be different if you knew that you didn't have to wait for your life to be going perfect, or even GOOD until you could be happy and have JOY? When we understand the Law of Relativity, we understand that things ARE WHAT THEY ARE and we can choose to react negatively or positively.
Half the battle to just knowing this. You mean I have a choice? I can choose to not blow up when my daughter writes all over the wall with permanent marker? I can choose how I feel when I get a bad grade or bad review at work? I can choose how I feel when a car pulls out in front of me? When we understand that we are not VICTIMS of life, but CREATORS of life there are limitless possibilities for JOY to flow. It makes me happy just knowing that. I get to choose! I can create my life simply by understanding that I have say, that God loves me and wants me to be happy.
This Weeks Challenge: The next time you are stuck behind a slow driver, take a deep breath, and come up with the BEST story you can for why that person is going slow. My most recent story was that the van that was going slow in front of me had a 7 layer wedding cake with porcelain roses on it. It was the woman's first wedding cake and she was really anxious about it arriving in tact. I promise you that it will be hard to feel frustrated after you have given your slow driver a good reason for their turtle-like driving and it will distract you so much, it won't even bother you that you are driving slower than normal.
