I read a superb book some years ago.
Let me share something I read in it, with you.
You have a photo album or albums, right?
Doesn’t matter if it is digital or the physical kind.
In these, you keep memories of happy times.
Maybe there’s a photo…
… of you with family, smiling, at a get-together
… of you with friends, having a great time
… of you on holiday seeing exotic places
… of you as a happy child
… of your wedding
… of things that you want to remember, things that make you feel happy
I am pretty certain you don’t store photos of unhappy moments.
Of course, you don’t have a photo …
… of you being scolded by your teacher/mom/aunt
… of you worrying, stressing over something
… of crying when you’re hurt
… of breaking off with a significant other
… of an angry moment
… of you when you’re sick
Nobody takes pictures of these and puts them in their album, do they?
But there’s another photo album—the one inside our head.
It is our memory, our secret photo album.
In this album, we safely store negative photos.
Snapshots of being insulted, pictures of being let down, vignettes of unhappiness.
There are very few of those happy pictures in this secret album.
Isn’t that sad?
Now, here is what I want you to do:
- Pull out that album from inside your head.
- Delete the photos/memories of things that make you unhappy, things that don’t inspire you.
- Dump them in the bin.
They have no place in this album.
Replace them with photos/memories that are similar to those happy pictures, the ones you keep in the album you look at to walk down memory lane and feel nostalgic, the one you show off to people.
To your secret memory album, add a photo …
- of that time when you and your friends/family/partner shared a special moment
- of that time when you experienced real kindness
- of that day when the sun shone down and everything looked beautiful
- of that warm hug from a loved one.
These are the photos that belong in your memory.
Then, when you pause during your day, you will find yourself lovingly pulling out this album and turning its pages, smiling, laughing, feeling good.
When you sit back and think, you’ll have pleasant thoughts.
You’ll be less stressed, and happier.
Can you do that for yourself?
Will you do it?
Do it.
10 comments
Hey Vidya,
When I first scanned the title to your post in my InBox a few days ago, I thought, “What the heck is this woman writing about now? What’s in my photo album???” “What’s frickin’ wrong with her?”
I thought, doesn’t she have anything better to do with her time? or is she just getting really desperate for topics to write about? So I just skipped over it because I had other stuff to do. But, then just now I took the time to quickly scan it and after determining if it was worth reading I then actually read your post.
Hahaha … it’s a very good analogy on how to eliminate negativity and think positively. You bring the point home really well.
Thanks for throwing a curve at me … you crazy lady you …
Mark
LiveLoveLaughBeHappy.com
Wonderful message….but what do you do when you do not have a photograph?
I guess you just have to depend on memories!
I can do that surely. I am loving your Wednesday Wisdom posts and that I am getting to read them every week 😉
As always I sensed a smile blooming as I finished reading the post, Vidya. I have a few negative photos in my mind and definitely have to get rid of them. I’m trying, though the one click delete is not working. Maybe, one day I would look at those photos with a smile rather than tears eyed, then perhaps the one click delete would work on them. I’m trying. Thanks for thoughtful wisdom this morning! 😀
“Wednesday Wisdom” definitely a thoughtful and wise one, which steer to motivates many in the journey of life. The one who totally apply “Let it go” attitude in life, as conveyed by Ms.Vidya through her poem and article, never carry negative feelings in their memories. Of course, the pictures of many childhood incidents and quite a few painful moments of life would have got into the album of memories and the same could create unwanted disturbances in life. Here, in this article of Wednesday Wisdom Ms.Vidya guiding us, and she want us to do certain steps to eradicate the negative thoughts from our mind. Well done! Thanks a lot Vidya.
You make it look so simple like physically pulling a drawer from a table and throwing away unwanted clutter.Mind is a strange web where special things both positive and negative get stuck as if by a strong adhesive.It is well nigh impossible to remove some sad memories try you might as hard as possible like the memory of my stay with my spouse on her last day in the hospital.The scene unfolds itself often even nearly after two decades.
I am sorry, Sir. I understand. I deal with similar memories of my Mom in hospital, and always feel miserable that we could not talk to her for a week before she passed away in hospital. However, I try to surround this memory with memories of happy moments and that feels soothing. Replacing unhappy memories is definitely not easy, but well worth a try. The wounds will heal. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Vidya Sury recently posted…No Mud, No Lotus #GratitudeCircle
What a beautiful thought. It’s hard some times but it’s possible. Love the wisdom you shared.
This is such a beautiful advice… Such a mentally relieving thought… Thanks .. i will do it time and again….
Lovely reminder!! Awesome!