ShareThis
On the final day of 2014, Bart and I were home alone, sick and feeling a little down. My daughter and son- in- law, with little Quincy in tow, actually took me to a doctor earlier that evening to make sure I didn’t already catch pneumonia. Neither Bart nor I could drive because we were both on cough syrup with codeine.
We should have been with friends and fellow church members, feasting on special holiday dishes, hearing God’s words through our pastor and waiting for the countdown to welcome the New Year. Instead, we were cooped up in our own self- designated spots in the house, alternately sleeping, watching TV or doing computer work.
It sucked. But it was still okay as long as it doesn’t become our life’s pattern this 2015.
Quincy David, our little construction worker in uniform and complete with all the tools he got as gift from Uncle Bart and Aunt Darya.
At this point, I can’t help but be reminded of a recent discussion with our nephew Henry, about his philosophical belief that we can create our own reality…That we can define it …Expand it…Limit it….Shape and stretch it to the farthest point we want to take it and it can happen.
Yes, mind over matter, will power, determination, burning ambition and adjectives like relentless, unyielding, – all these powerful words play into this philosophy of creating your own reality. All these things are part of the equation and much more. Many times we mouth divergent views only to find them converge at some point down the road. I tell you though, no matter how long we talk about the subject, we never get done, especially when Bart joins in the “fray.”
What reality would you like to create, granting that you can truly do it? Wouldn’t it be something you have always dreamed of and aspired for? A great-paying job or very successful business. .. A beautiful, richly furnished home… A luxury car…A great spouse to enjoy them with… Beautiful/handsome, intelligent and successful children…. A famous name and a great fortune to go with it… The realm of possibilities is infinite!
But this is not what Henry is espousing. Conditioning your mind until you believe that the idea, dream or vision is the truth and is thus your reality now erases all doubts in your mind that as a future reality, it will come true – this is where it begins but it is not where it ends. There’s an actual and consistent effort you must put in, an actual, efficient work you must do, oftentimes painstakingly, to get to your goal. After all, a great prize always comes at a high price tag.
Some new and a lot of old
Honestly, I find this principle or philosophy a refurbished, remodeled, updated/upgraded or polished old concept. Not Henry’s fault but it’s simply a fruit of his constant thought processing and analyses. He is also inspired by his new discoveries that make the divergent philosophies and nature of science and beliefs in God and his divinity converge. He is eager to prove to anyone who’ll ask that there is a literal meaning to the Biblical scripture God is with you. That God’s DNA is literally in us. I’m not going there as I don’t think I can do justice explaining his theory. If it piqued your curiosity, you can send a friend request to his facebook account, Henry Falcon. But believe me, you can be in for an exhausting, I mean, exhaustive conversation. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Different ways of creating our reality
Going back to the beginning of this discourse, I whined a bit about being sick and missing the New Year’s Party. It was alright, I wrote, as long as it does not become our life’s pattern for the entire 2015. Guess what? I must confess that I’m cognizant of my part in our miserable situation today.
Our little angel, pretty, very lovable and a tough cookie, Mikayla August.
First, I didn’t get a flu shot because last year, I got it but still caught the flu. Then, when I caught cold and started coughing, I waited a week to take over the counter cough syrup but only used the leftover medicine at home, drinking it only when I feel like doing it. Three weeks of incessant coughing and fever later, I decided to buy and take consistently the most expensive over the counter cough syrup, Delsym. It was a mistake buying that useless medicine, I told Bart. My coughing grew worse. This time, I’m suffering from congestion and couldn’t breathe. My breathing was painful and labored. My throat felt itchy and burning. I called my niece Nikki who, after hearing my complaints and breathing, prescribed a strong antibiotic and cough syrup with codeine. 3 days into the regimen and with only 2 days left of the antibiotic and a need for refill of the cough medicine (which I shared with Bart who also has a bad cough), my condition has not improved much. I still suffer from persistent coughing but because of the antibiotic and lozenges, my throat is no longer as bad. The doctor I saw on the 31st didn’t change my prescription, saying my niece gave me what was good for my condition.
Anyway, the lesson of this little tale of woes is that, we do have a hand in shaping our reality, present or future. With the past, we can’t do anything to change it. But we can certainly learn from it. For what good is the past if we couldn’t learn a lesson or two or more from it?
I know I did learn from this experience and would never again shrug off my personal responsibility to my own health, especially when there are 2 innocent ones I love the most whose own health and well being that can be affected.
To Quincy and Mikayla, know that Lola will be more responsible from now on.
God bless you and keep you safe always!