We create our experiences, and we all have our stories to tell
Imagine you are at a birthday party. It is warm outside; the music is playing, and you enjoy a (vegetarian) barbecue. You look around and see some of the people are smiling, and some of them are looking bored. The music is the same, the weather is the same, but people behave differently. Some people are having an amazing time, and some people are bored as hell. It is the same party, yet it is experienced differently. When the party is over, one person would say, ‘it was an amazing party!’ Someone else would say, ‘it was so boring!’ So, which one is correct? Well, both are.
No matter where you are, no matter what you do: your thoughts, mood, and state of mind lead to your experiences. If you want to be happy, make sure you do everything you can to create happiness. Make sure you create positive experiences. Yes, sometimes bad and uncontrollable things happen. The question is, how do you deal with it? You don’t have to take the blame, but you can take responsibility. It’s not your fault that something bad happened, but you are the one who can fix the way you’re dealing with it.
Instead of focusing on what went wrong, we can focus on what we can do to make our lives easier. You don’t have to agree with everybody; you have to prioritise where your energy is going. Do you want to focus on the negativity resulting in more negativity? Or do you want to focus on making your life more comfortable and happier?
Everybody has their own story to tell
One of the difficult things we are not capable of is seeing things from a different perspective. We are excellent at judging, and we are quick with our answers, yet we are not listening. We think the world revolves around us. We believe that if somebody is mad, it is because we did something. If someone is behaving a certain way, it has something to do with us.
More than a decade ago, I used to work at McDonald’s. It was a busy day, and we were understaffed. A lady ordered something that was not available at that moment, so I told her that I would bring it to her table when it would be ready. It took a while because I also had to serve other customers at the same time. I do not remember the exact details, but I remember she was furious, and she yelled. I apologised to her and offered her a free item; a drink, a snack or a dessert; she could decide what she wanted. Half an hour later, when she was done eating, she also apologised for her behaviour.
We only have to listen to each other because it will become more difficult to judge. If we didn’t have a conversation, the lady would never know why it took me so long to bring her food. I explained to her that we were understaffed. I believe she had a bereavement in her family, so she apologised and explained to me that her reaction had nothing to do with me.
How do you create world peace?
(1) Understand that we have to take responsibility in our lives, no matter who was the one who caused it. It brings us nowhere if we keep focusing on blaming instead of solving.
(2) Understand that everybody reacts from their experiences and state of mind and that it has nothing to do with you.
Thank you for reading ♡
Source picture: canva
