Do you see what I see?

Your brain in a very powerful muscle.

Well, technically is it an organ. It's not made of muscle fibers, but it CAN be trained and "grow" like muscles.

So today I'm calling it a muscle.

Here's why: What we choose to focus (exert brain power) on, affects how we see things. It affects our inner self-talk. It affects our attitude. It affects how we feel. It affects how we speak and act toward others.

That's a lot of things it affects!

Let's try it with this photo.

what you focus on.jpeg

*If I focus on the weeds, I think, "I need to get those out of there before they go to seed and make more weeds. They make it look horrible as soon as a customer walks into the tunnel. I don't know how I'm going to get them pulled with everything else on my list though. I'm always falling behind. I never get everything crossed off my To Do List."

*If I focus on the dead cucumber plants, I (again) get grumpy with how the tunnel looks to customers and wonder what I did wrong to cause them to die earlier than in past years. And then I start down the never ending spiral of thinking I've failed as a farmer and need to learn more before I can teach others.

*If I focus on the tall, beautiful pepper plants, I realize I may not be such a bad farmer after all. I have given them adequate water and nutrients and, in return, they are giving me some of the biggest bell peppers we've ever harvested.

*I can look at the speaker and be reminded of the music we listen to while harvesting. It puts the workers in a good mood and it's fun to listen to everyone belt out the lyrics, even if we are a bit off-key.

*I can see the tomato plants in the background loaded with red and green tomatoes. This makes me thankful because earlier in the season I thought I would have a failure on tunnel tomatoes. I'm happy I've learned about bt, the organic pesticide, and how it worked to save most of the tomatoes. I think again that perhaps I'm not a failure as a farmer, but one who is learning and growing and truly enjoying what I do.

Ok. So that's a lot of words to get my point across, but you know how much I like to talk. Plus, I hope this example from my real life will help you realize how thoughts in your life affect you.

Because it's not just in farming. I can see it with my kids and me in running, sports, homeschooling, and relationships.

So I'm going to choose to focus on the best and beautiful things in my life. This Bible verse says it perfectly: Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-the best, not the worst;the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Philippians 4:8 (The Message)

I'd love to hear how your thoughts and things you focus on affect you. Have you conciously made an effort to focus on the positive?