Are you a mighty companion?
"someone who walks along another and lifts up rather than keeps down"
A thought is only an idea, a notion, until you begin to give it attention. It doesn’t begin to take form, come alive, until you breathe life into it. The process of creation always begins with a single thought but it doesn’t get moving until you align your heart with your mind. Most of us do this without thinking. It is an act that happens thousands of times each day without our conscious attention. It’s a miracle really, the acts that we accomplish each and every day without even a second thought. Imagine then, the endless possibilities as we begin to realize that by becoming aware of our own thoughts and guiding them in a direction that best aligns with who we truly are, what we are able to accomplish.
Think But A Thought! was written to help us recognize that each of us has the power and ability to choose our thoughts wisely. When we become aware of the thoughts that take up space in our minds each day, we then begin to move into the driver’s seat and recognize that some of the thoughts that have been playing on a loop for most of our lives may have been self sabotaging, self deprecating, and holding us back from living the life we’ve always dreamed of having. My childhood abuse created a loop that played over and over in my head well into my forties. It reminded me that I was ugly, not worthy, never enough, and worst of all dirty no matter how many showers I took. It also echoed the sentiment that everything I touched was subject to judgement and the homes I lived in were never clean enough, never somewhere I could feel safe or even comfortable.
Once you begin to get on track and retrain your brain, replace the negative thoughts with neutral thoughts, “I’m not ugly, I’m not stupid, and I am enough” subtle changes begin to take place in your day, in your habits and routines. Emotional baggage suddenly becomes a little less heavy, and triggers that used to send you to the moon and back seem less forceful and present throughout your day. This is not an easy task. For some of us the negative loops have been playing in a constant repetition for decades, entrenching their claws into the fleshy parts of our brains, holding tight at all costs, unwilling to let go. Trust me, it took longer than I would like to admit to turn these toxic affirmations to neutral and then eventually positive. There are days when I still have to consciously rethink my thoughts and replace them with statements closer to the truth. I guess what I want you to hear most is that I did it. If I can do it, then so can you.
Think But A Thought! was a two year process of creating a children’s book from a Universal Law which I challenged myself to test its limits and get to know it on a most personal level. I studied the Law of Mentalism inside and out while I sketched out the 32 pages, 16 pages of verse, into a cohesive story which hopefully could be read and enjoyed on multiple levels by children of all ages. The Law of Mentalism dates back thousands of years and it is said was first noted in the Great Library of Alexandria before the devastating fire. I’m not an historian or archaeologist, I’m simply an avid reader with an open mind who has always been willing to hear different sides and explanations of a shared interest. When I first came across the Law of Mentalism I paused. I grew up loving adventure stories, myths, legends, and lore. At the time I felt as though I had happened upon a very deep rabbit hole. I still do.
We never know what will spark change in our lives. We never know what will be a catalyst to a shift in thought, action, and ability to expand. We do know that we are born with the inherent need to grow and expand. We do so unconsciously at first until we reach a certain age and then the responsibility to grow further in aptitude, empathy, and willingness to wonder rests on our shoulders. We’re never truly done growing and when we realize this, life becomes a little bit easier to navigate. If we’re fortunate enough we align with “mighty companions” along the way to help propel our growth and catapult us to unexpected places. There are no guarantees. Mighty companions may be few and far between. We may never truly have a mighty companion, but odds are if we allow our hearts to be open we will. They come in all shapes, sizes, forms, and personalities. When you meet a mighty companion, you know it. They knock you off center, just a bit, and when you don’t expect it they reach down and lift you up when you’ve fallen off course.
A good friend taught me the phrase mighty companion. He’s ironically someone I’ve never met in person and perhaps I never will. Yet somehow our paths crossed, mingled, and entwined just long enough for me to realize that there is so much we may never know about this life we’re asked to blindly live. Somehow in our common ground of childhood abuse, we were brought together, to help each other realize that even in the darkest creases of our beings we are still no different than anyone else. Our negative thoughts have no warrant for taking up space in our minds and keeping our hearts closed and dull. Somewhere in the common bond that we share there is a vein of gold that binds us together to silently lift us up. He first spoke of mighty companions to me when “I thought” my struggles were mine alone and needed to be worked through in isolation and behind a calm, gentle facade. This character that appeared briefly and out of nowhere has perhaps helped me move forward in a way I’ll never be able to repay.
He’s inspired me to keep moving forward, growing, and expanding. For that I’m incredibly grateful and hopefully will be able to do the same for someone else just needing a hand to reach down and lift them up.
