Sticky paper

I recently had a mouse in my house. We thought the cats would solve the problem but after several weeks we purchased live traps. A few days later we caught the mouse and released it in the woods. Problem solved!

I discussed this issue with a family member who shared her stories of catching mice, including the use of sticky paper.

I’m personally not a fan of the sticky paper method, but thinking about this sticky paper did prove to be a useful analogy in my spiritual practice.

I was praying during the church service this last Sunday. It was uplifting, inspiring and healing. However, now and then, these thoughts would come out of no where: feeling personally offended by a situation, rehearsing another uncomfortable situation, etc.

This was my response: there is no “sticky paper” in my consciousness to trap these thoughts. I could simply let them go — no reaction, no distraction. I did let them go and continued on with my prayers. And I felt so uplifted!

This is a process I would highly recommend to anyone! You could also think of the analogy of throwing spaghetti noodles at the wall — in this case, we don’t want them to stick!

Reblog: Garden of Gratitude

It’s so easy to get caught up in focusing on the negative, or all the things “wrong” around us. This blog post illustrates how valuable it is to get caught up in the good around us, instead.

 

Garden of Gratitude

by Patrick Collins

…He told me that on his morning trip next door four days after he began ‘deadheading”, as he gazed at the pots he noticed how brilliant and colorful the geraniums were. He suddenly realized that he had spent the first part of the week focusing on the dead flowers, looking intently for the “dead and gone” and what he could “bury”.   He realized that he had overlooked the beauty of the entire garden, and each individual plant by looking for death instead of life. He became incredibly GRATEFUL for life and being. Read more