Finding light in the darkest of places

Last night after finishing a long day working with clients, I stepped outside and was suddenly greeted by a white, crisp, blanket of snow and heavy snow fall. My first thought was great (in a sarcastic sort of way), it's cold and slippery, it’s late and the trains will now most likely be delayed.

I started my journey to the train station; my body slouched over feeling tense and walking carefully trying not to slip in the snow. It's fair to say I was feeling quite annoyed at this point and to top it all off, my blackberry stopped working. Here I was fearing and worrying about something that may or may not happen.

At this point I realised what I was doing, I was looking into the snow, and experienced the worst of it. That's when my attitude change - instead of focusing on the darkness of the evening, I started to see light and beauty. The snow gently falling and landing softly on my face. I looked up and it was like seeing hundreds of little shiny stars falling to the earth. A simple lightness came over me, my body relaxed as I started to appreciate the wonder of snow.

Yes, the tubes were delayed, yes I nearly slipped once or twice, but as I started to open myself up to the experience those things no longer bothered me. Everything else was still the same - the only difference was my attitude had changed. This experience got me thinking - how our inner thoughts reflect our outer realities. In other words, how we see the world is how we experience it.

Think of it like this: Two friends come to visit London.

Person A sees London as a damp, cold miserable place, where everything is expensive, awful food, waiters are rude, and people push and shove on the street. This person will experience London in this way as their thoughts influence their experience, they focus on the negative things so that becomes their reality and experience of London.

Person B sees London as an exciting place to visit, wonderful old buildings full of character, friendly and helpful people, a vast options of food from all over the world. This person will experience London as a friendly place to visit, with helpful people and a place full of intriguing history as that is their inner thoughts so it naturally becomes their external reality.

Last night I start out as person A - and if I continued like that my journey home would have been miserable and cold. When my attitude changed and switch over to Person B the journey home was full of fun, adventure, beauty and wonderment. I was like a child walking in the snow and experiencing it for the first time!

Confucius said "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

So what sort of person are you? Person A or person B? Do you recognise how your inner thoughts reflect your outer reality?
If you are a person B type start by accepting your thoughts but also introduce new positive thoughts into your life. Start to see the world, your experience through different eyes. You may just surprise yourself how much you begin to enjoy life, experiences and relationships so much more