You’re walking down a path.  Along this path there are stones of all shapes and sizes.  As you walk along, some stones are in the middle of your path, and others are on the sides.

The ones on your path are those events of your day.  They are easy to pick up.  They are right there.

The ones on the side of the path are the ones you’d have to consciously choose to walk over and pick them up.

As you walk along your path, and you “bump into” the stones on the path, you are faced with a choice.  Pick them up, walk around them, or step over them.  These are the obvious choices.  Some of those big ones, though, are tougher.  Stepping over them isn’t quite as easy.  It’s a long walk around them.  Picking them up seems to be the choice.

The big ones, for whatever reason, are almost always easy to pick up.  The tough part is putting that big one down.  You then choose to walk with it.  Those big ones are heavy!  It tires you out!  And yet you cannot put it down.  By the end of your day, you’re tired.

Funny thing about this, you again, for whatever reason, choose to hang onto that big stone, and take it to bed with you.  It’s pretty tough to sleep with this big stone.  It’s a bed hog, and often lays right on your chest.  Sometimes it even makes it tough to breathe.  By the next morning you’re absolutely exhausted.

Sometimes as you walk down the path, you pick up more than one big stone.  There’s a lot going on.  The burden is even heavier, but you cannot put them down.

Days and nights of carrying around these stones begins to take it’s toll on you.  Your body and mind are tired, and you seem to have disconnected from your Spirit.

Years of carrying around you have forgotten what it’s like to walk around without stones, and think this must be normal.  You don’t look like you used to.  You don’t feel like you seem to remember feeling.  Your body doesn’t function the way it used to either.  You’ve aged.  Some dis-ease has begun to set in.

This isn’t what you signed up for.  This isn’t what life is supposed to be about.  At least, that’s what you’ve heard…somewhere.

That’s the Worry Path.  We’ve all walked along it at some point.

Here’s the thing.  It’s not really the Worry Path.  It’s just a Path, and those Stones are just Thoughts.

Remember the stones along the side of the path?  They were the ones you would have to consciously walk over to in order to pick them up.  Those ones are a little out of the way, but they’re special.

They’re light.  You can fill up your arms with them, and walk without effort.  Plus, when you walk over to them, sometimes you see the way around the big ones in the middle of the path.  Even better, when you fill your arms with them, you don’t have any room to pick up the big ones either.

By the end of the day, when you have filled your arms with the small ones on the side of the road, you still feel fine.  When you go to bed, everything is okay too.  They’re easy to put down, and are actually kind of soft and squishy.  They make good pillows!  You can rest your head on them, and fall asleep right away.  When you wake up, you’re refreshed.

Some of these small squishy stones are still there in the morning, but most of them have disappeared and made their way back onto the side of the road again, ready for you to notice them, walk over, and pick them up.  They’re always there on the side of the road, just waiting patiently for you.

Some days, it almost seems like they’re bouncing on the side of the road trying to get your attention—especially then they’re a particularly big stone in the middle of the road.  It’s almost like they’re hoping you’ll notice them so they can point out the way around the big rock.

But you don’t always notice.  Sometimes you forget they’re there, and all you notice is the big stones.  You bend down and pick it up.  It’s in the way.

You’ve found the Worry Path again.

***

Worry is an insidious, contagious, purposeless thought.

"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy." ~Leo Buscaglia

Don’t mistake Worry for Awareness.  They are not the same.  You can be aware of something and choose not to worry.

The question always is, “HOW?”

How do you NOT worry when it’s sitting right in front of you?

Find a different stone to pick up…find a different thought.

Look for it, and find it.  Make the decision to fill your brain with different thoughts.

Here are some ways for you to consciously change your thoughts.

Youtube

Search for laughing babies, funny animals, videos of your favourite song, comedy skits, etc.  There’s ALWAYS something on Youtube that will make you laugh.  Make sure you share whatever you find!  There’s bound to be someone in your circle of influence who needs a pick-me-up too.  What’s your favourite video on Youtube?

Music

Choose something that gets your feet and hips moving…something joyfully contagious.  Make a CD filled with your Joyful music.  Keep copies in your car, at your office, in the kitchen, the laundry room, and where ever else you can listen to music.  Get a cheap mp3 player, and keep it with you at all times.  Make it easy for you to pick it up and listen whenever you need that pickup.

Dump & Flip

This Tool is from the Joy Journal Audio Program (a 5 minute daily tool for consciously directing your thoughts for Joy).  This tool is for those really tough days when the worry gets right up in your face.

Get a piece of paper and fold it in half so you have two columns.  On the left side dump out all the crap. In point form list what’s upsetting you, frightening you, worrying you, ticking you off.  Get it all out.  By doing this you are acknowledging what is, and releasing it onto the paper.

On the right side, give each item on the left a flip.  Write it as a positive opposite.  For example, “Dealt with a miserable customer” turns into  “I get such awesome customers that are a joy to serve.”  Do this for each item on the left side of the paper.

Take the piece of paper and rip it down the middle at the fold.  Keep the right side.  This is a vision.  Fold it up and put in your pocket, or keep it where ever you wish.  Get rid of the left side.  Tear it up, or burn it.  It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you get rid of it.

By keeping the right side and throwing away the left you are symbolically choosing your happy thoughts and releasing the negative thoughts.

No matter what’s going on in your life, there is only one path…one stream of thoughts, and it’s yours.  No one and no thing controls which thoughts you pick up or don’t pick up other than you.  Make sure you’re looking around and not just looking at the ones that are right in front of you.  Look off to the sides, and consciously pick the ones that add to the joy of your day.

Don’t walk The Worry Path.

Dream BIG!

Velma Gallant
The Queen of JOY!
Host of Welcome Changes Radio

PS ~ The Joy Journal Audio Program will help you consciously choose your thoughts, and it only takes 5 minutes a day.  Your happiness IS worth 5 minutes a day.

PPS ~ Check out Journey Through a Course in Miracles.  These short lessons will support you to put down those heavy stones you’ve been carrying around.