Make Your Bed

Years ago I had the privilege of traveling to New York City to attend a Unity service led by Eric Butterworth. I have always delighted in his brand of preaching, balancing as he did the glorious with the practical. I just resonate to the way his mind works it all out so beautifully for us. His tagline was “You can change your life by altering your thoughts” and his mission was to spread this idea to everyone. He espoused how a simple tweaking of an old idea could cause a ripple effect in your life that changes everything.

He gave me this one idea that has persisted: each day as you make up your bed - make up your mind. (A true logophile, he loved using words in a way to help one remember the points he was making.) So first I began the habit of making my bed. I admit to not always seeing the importance of this small duty, and thereby often ignoring the task. But I discovered an interesting thing. When I bothered to do it, I noticed that a sense of order seemed to command my day. That in itself was a little life changing, certainly for the better.

Then I began to say to myself while making the bed, “I am now making up my mind that today I will see things rightly.” This is from another Butterworth euphemism – “Don’t try and set things rightly, but see them rightly.” So instead of trying to change outer conditions to “set things right” just “see” what is already right. Aha! I had discovered the secret formula. And you can, too! This is your golden egg, your sacred weapon, your hope of glory.

You see, you get to decide. The whole thing is UP TO YOU. You can decide that what is happening to you is awful or awesome. So simple, right? Ah, but here’s the catch. Ready?... You have to remember to do it. We wake up each morning and for some of us, the day begins immediately. The baby’s awake and hungry, or the phone rings or your nail breaks picking up your coffee cup and before you know it, it’s lunch time. And the day has seized YOU, you didn’t seize the day.

It is critical that we make the decision each day to see the good. Make up your mind that today you will look for the good in EVERYTHING that happens. As Shakespeare said in Hamlet, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” And remembering to actually do it - see the good - is the key.

Making your bed is as good a place to start as any. If you can remember to do that, and at the same time, make up your mind, well, your good day is assured. Or at least you have an auspicious start! It’s all up to you, so you might as well choose the good.