“Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.”
~George Bernard Shaw
Have you noticed the difference in yourself depending on how your day is going? Or the difference in your day, depending on how you are doing?
When I’m in a good mood, everything seems bright and possible and doable. Or at least more things do. When I’m in a tough mood, things seem like more of a struggle. We absolutely are influenced by our situations and experiences, and we absolutely influence our situations and experiences based on how we are.
When I see the best in people, I often get a better response from them. When I have a skip in my step or a smile on my face, I often get a smile back.
It’s easy to get taken down by things around us, especially now as much of the world seems to get crazier and crazier and less and less caring. But if we are, indeed, the window through which we see the world, if we have such a huge influence on how we experience things, we might want to listen to George Bernard Shaw and keep ourselves clean and bright.
After my cancer, perhaps needless to say, a main goal of mine was to never have it again. I learned about the anti-inflammatory lifestyle – prioritizing sleep, lessening stress, strengthening social relationships, eating as healthy as I can, moving and exercising and moving some more, and watching for toxins in my environment. These anti-cancer life choices are powerful choices for everyone, to the extent we want to take them on. Research shows that our brain and body (and therefore our spirit) are stronger and healthier when we sleep well, eat thoughtfully, practice mindfulness or other stress-reducing practices, and move our bodies.
We intentionally become a cleaner, brighter window through which to see the world.
At a dark point in my life, I decided that every time I saw a goldfinch I would know that I was okay and that things would be okay. And every time I saw one, I reminded myself of this. I went out of my way to walk by where they might be. I bought finch bird food for my birdfeeder, to entice them to come to me. I trained and trained and trained my mind to open to joy at the sight of their beautiful yellow and black bodies or their graceful arcing flight path in the distance or the sweet tune of their birdsong. I trained myself so well that more often than not, joy infused my heart to nearly overflowing. I even saw yellow paint on the sidewalk the other day, and I got excited.
I intentionally became a cleaner, brighter window through which to see the world. (By the way, the goldfinch example is an example of neuroplasticity, a way to intentionally work with the rewiring of your brain.)
We are the window through which we see the world, and there are many ways to influence that window.
How do you like to see the world? How do you care for yourself to do that?
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If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
For support in cleaning and brightening your window, contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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