There's Always Two Sides on the Coin of Life

I found out this morning that my boyfriend is moving back to San Diego next week. Even though I'd discussed this with him several times, seeing the airline confirmation really kicked in the fact that the move is real, and is no longer just theory.

As many of you can imagine, I was hit with a variety of emotions, and have spent much of the morning in tears. As I was walking back from the gym this morning and arrived at the front stoop of my apartment building, I ran into my neighbor, Nancy. Like a little stoop-angel, she gave me several big bear hugs as I sobbed like a baby over my boyfriend's upcoming move.

For the first time in the 14+ years I've lived in my building, this lovely woman opened up and shared her beliefs about God with me. She told me that in times like this she always prays. She asks for support and wisdom. And she asks that she be shown the blessings in her life that she might be missing.

Her words really spoke to a deeper part of me - the part that is always aware of this truth of those words. As we talked, I could so clearly see and feel the duality of my situation. Even as I cried, I was profoundly aware that there was another reality, another perspective, another side of the coin, that was yearning to be discovered and acknowledged.

In every situation, we have a choice as to which side we look at. It's really all up to me, and can be as simple as the toss of a coin... I can choose to focus on my boyfriend's departure, or on the fact that I have a wonderful man in my life who absolutely adores me. I can focus on my credit card debt, or on the unbelievable abundance that continues to flow into my life, in little and big ways. I can focus on the 10 lbs I'd like to lose, or on the fact that I'm alive, breathing, and have the gift of the energy to type these words.

What stories are you telling yourself? What would the opposite side of that coin look and sound like?

Today, write down 3 beliefs that are holding you down. Then write down the flip-side of the situation, even if you might have a hard time seeing or believing it to be true. This practice of "flipping the coin" helps to break the patterns of negative thinking that get deeply engrained into our psyches. Help your brain rewire, and start retraining those more positive brain synapses to take hold and take charge of your thinking and your life!

©2007 Stephanie McWilliams