We tend to think that we are pretty objective.

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That when we look at the world we see it as it is.

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We are fairly certain about our interactions with other people.

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And we know what we know to be true.

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Whether it is about our history, our lives, or our relationships.

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What that person said, we are certain, meant one thing.

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How our boss treated us the other day was because she doesn't like us.

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Or the reason why our friend didn't call us back is because they are mad at us.

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We are so sure and so certain that what we think is true, we rarely open ourselves up to other possibilities.

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Perhaps your boss got some bad news that morning and she's upset.

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Maybe your friend's child is sick and they are in the hospital with them.

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There are so many possibilities that we don't see when we look at a situation.

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Because we don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.

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When we are scared and afraid, the world is a scary place.

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If we are happy and filled with joy, the world is a beautiful place.

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But wait, how can that be the same world?

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We live in a world that is shaped and molded to our own thoughts and perspectives.

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Where things happen because of the reason we come up with.

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And those reasons are merely a reflection of how we feel about ourselves.

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How we truly feel about ourselves is constantly reflected in the stories we come up with about what is happening around us.

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When we feel good about ourselves, then wonderful things are happening to reward us.

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Should we feel we are unworthy and bad, then the world is trying to punish us.

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Both can be true, and neither.

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For what is happening is happening regardless of the meaning we make of it.

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Why things are happening the way they are is unfathomable.

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There may be a thousand reasons why things are the way they are.

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When we choose only one and latch on to it, we are limiting our view of the world.

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We love to make meaning out of every little interaction and experience we have.

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The true meaning may be something far beyond our understanding.

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So if we are going to assign a meaning to any given situation, why not assign a meaning that uplifts and empowers us?

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It is our choice to see the world as a dark, scary place.

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Yet we can also choose to see the world as a hopeful, beautiful place.

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We can choose to believe that people are bad and evil and the world is going to destroy itself.

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Or we can decide to see the good in people, and know that they are on their own path of discovery and self realization.

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It is not about seeing the world through rose colored glasses.

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Rather, it is about being more conscious of how we feel and noticing how that affects our interpretation of events around us.

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This understanding can help us navigate the world with a deeper appreciation of who we are and the part we play in it.

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For in the end it is not about who is right and who is wrong.

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It is about how to live a more kind, more loving, and more compassionate life.

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Not because it benefits other people.

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Because it benefits us.

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And in the end, is that not the type of world we all want to live in?

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Can you see how you feel affects how you see the world?

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And can you be open to the possibility that there just might other ways to see things?

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~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant

Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour