Choosing the beneficial state of mind

CATHARINE COOPER

What I know to be constant is change.

The colors of deciduous trees have shifted from greens to red and

gold and a slight chill in the air declares the season of the

sweater. Clocks have taken their annual leap backward, and morning

has regained her early light, making high tide beach navigation not

quite so treacherous. Christmas decorations festoon the fronts of

local restaurants and gifts already fill the shelves of hungry

retailers. The 2004 political campaign has ended and a new round of

policy discussion has begun to entrench the media.

Change bears the chance to set aside the differences of yesterday

and put energy and direction into today’s agenda. What can I do to

make my day? How best shall I fill my hours?

Beyond the obvious, which is the work that each of us has selected

as our life’s avocation, the question bears more on the elements of

our perception and the energies that we create. I hold the practice

each morning or choosing my emotional state before leaving the

sanctuary of my bed. I consciously roll my thoughts around, pressing

negativity to the edges, and proceed to select descriptors such as

joy, compassion or kindness. This might sound “namby-pamby,” to use a

term of my grandmother’s, but intention has power, and to create and

set an emotional state is the work of the mind.

It takes no real skill to select a positive state as a context in

which to experience the waking hours before me. I could just as

easily let the grumblings of an over-filled schedule dictate

irritation, but that would follow me like a bad rash, and I’d likely

spend most of the day scratching, until raw and uncomfortable.

I am fully aware of the likelihood that somewhere between the

hours dedicated to sleep, I’ll be confronted by an event which

challenges my choice. I’ll be forced to re-evaluate my position, and

choose again, with greater intensity and focus. An unkind word,

spoken callously, with little regard to its outcome, can undermine

the best intentions. News, which burdens the heart, also challenges a

framework grounded in an opposing emotion. Think, love/hate,

war/peace, joy/sorrow.

The opportunity arises to explore the full range of human

responses. Science and extensive medical studies have proven that one

of the greatest health risks we face is that of stress. As an

observer of my reaction to outside influences, I become more aware of

my ability to process negative information, yet remain internally

unaffected.

My friend, George, says that, “Stress is when your head tells you

to do something that makes you feel sick to your stomach.” Seems as

if he’s discovered a simple mechanism to measure the power of

personal choices. How often, you might ask yourself, does an

expression of kindness or compassion create an aching gut? I would

venture, rarely.

If I select compassion as my guide for the day, I am able to apply

it not only to externally driven experiences, but also to myself. The

driver who cuts me off at the corner might be under great pressure. I

have the ability to not internalize an angry response to their bad

auto practices. The client who overreacts in a screaming rant, may in

fact, be struggling with unseen issues. I have the choice to listen,

apply necessary solutions, and not become embroiled in a heated

exchange.

Outside, the bamboo sways, the high school band plays yet another

chorus of their Beatles medley, while the crows squawk and chase the

redtail. I pull my sweater a bit tighter, watch a small fishing boat

troll along the coastline, and notice that the sun’s trajectory has

shifted dramatically to the south. Seasons roll through, both

internally and externally, and change is the watchword. For this day,

and all its beauty, I select joy.

* Catharine Cooper can be reached at [email protected].