I never thought I would hear myself call anything on earth paradise, but as my thoughts and feelings change I can feel my entire being begin to evolve.  I feel like the caterpillar who has been in a cocoon way to long and is starting to break out of it’s shell.  As my wings break through I can see the light of a brand new world enter into mine.  I can feel the excitement build up in the depths of my soul.

Paradise isn’t about the landscape and what part of this great world you live in, it’s a feeling and entirely new way of thinking.  Although I must admit, for me the palm trees and the smell of the ocean near by does help.  At the same time, you can live in your ideal area but you will never find paradise if you don’t find it in yourself first.  It’s about being one with your surroundings and everyone that you come in contact with. 

In the past year I have read and heard the phrase “change your mind and you will change the way you see things”.  I thought that I understood what this meant but today I see and feel it inside myself.  Today, for the first time, I see the world as being perfect and everyone and everything is right where it needs to be.  I no longer feel the need to change the world, it’s already perfect.  We are all right where we need to be at this moment.  The feeling that something is wrong with your life or with the world is a reflection of what you are thinking.  If you think that something is a certain way, you will only see evidence that will confirm these thoughts. 

It’s all an illusion.  It doesn’t matter how you feel or think, it’s an ever changing illusion.  As we change our thoughts our world changes and we enter into another illusion.  I say this because everything in our world changes depending on how we look, feel, and think about it.  For me it’s like standing on a bridge suspended above the water.  For some odd reason I am terrified of bridges.  When I look down from the bridge I see an accident waiting to happen, however, if I step away from the bridge and look at it from a distance it is the most beautiful piece of architectural art that I have ever seen.  I have learned that to make it over the bridge without panicking, I have to see it as being beautiful and not the death trap that I saw before.  Change the way you think about something and you change it’s whole meaning and how you see it. 

Today was a day that I had been dreading.  It’s been a year now since my sister passed away.  I had been looking at it as the day I lost my sister, so naturally I wasn’t happy about the day.  When I woke up this morning I had a completely different perspective.  I have talked to a very dear friend about this and after a lot of thought and working at changing my thoughts about it, I finally reached a different point of view.  Today is not the day that I lost my sister, she was never lost and has been right here with me the whole time.  It’s not the anniversary of her death but a new kind of birthday.  A year ago she left this existence to enter into a new and more perfect state of being.  It is no longer a day of loss but a day to celebrate her new perfect birthday.  

It’s amazing how you can change the way you think about one thing and it changes the rest of your thinking and how you see the world around you.  After thinking about it for a bit this morning and all of last night, I was ready to start my day.  As I walked outside to take the kids to the bus stop I saw everything differently.  The tree’s are greener and perfectly crooked, the grass smelled sweeter, the flowers were more beautiful, and I realized that I live in paradise.  I saw the world for the first time as perfect, I feel like a child again learning everything for the first time.  What an amazing feeling of freedom!  I now realize that I can make my world anything I want it to be, I am no longer a victim of circumstance.  I am the creator of my own life, can you imagine the possibilities??  Now I just need to decide what I want to do….lol. 

Welcome to paradise!!!