“Our eyes are not viewers. They’re also projectors that are running a second story over the picture that we see in front of us all of the time.” Jim Carrey
The second story that we tell ourselves in the moment is where we invite frustration, suffering, and misunderstanding.
So how can we attempt to prevent the second story from closed captioning our eyes, our minds, and our hearts?
First, let’s begin with what you want.
Do you want to fight a battle?
or
Do you want to befriend beauty?
Your answer here frames the plot for every moment of your existence.
Think about it.
If your story always starts with “in the beginning I wanted a war” then it’s highly likely that your story will end with “and there was a winner and a loser.”
But if your story begins with “in the beginning there was something beautiful at play” then you’re probably going to somehow end up with “and something beautiful transpired.”
In our home we have what we call bedrock beliefs. These beliefs help us navigate such questions. We believe that life is happening for us. We also believe that love has our back. And we believe that a posture of wonder and awe is infinitely more enjoyable than the constant pursuit of games that end with win, lose, or draw.
We attempt to make these beliefs the rhythm of our hearts so that when the moment in the day arrives where we might start projecting a second story over the moment we can reclaim our eyes and actually usher into existence what is trying to transform us.
If you want a war, you’ll ask, seek, and knock for a war.
And if you want beauty, you’ll do the same.
We need more beauty askers, seekers, and knockers.
I think that’s the only way we’ll find it.
Ashton.Gustafson 