Trust Thyself!

Trust Thyself!

By Allen Merritt ©2018

I happened to look up and saw this baseball hat bobbing by. It was an ordinary hat, nothing special about it as far as baseball caps go; except for two words, which stood out like a sore thumb.

First of all, I love hats. I collect them. I wear them…a lot!

Secondly, I noticed the words, “Trust Thyself” emblazoned on this one. I hadn’t seen this one before. I found those words captivating.

Of course, it didn’t have to be a hat. It could have been anything, but the words are what really grabbed my attention. I love when that happens. In fact, just last week I stumbled upon a great vegan restaurant in Studio City, which also sold hats displaying the word “Hope.” I was as intrigued then as I am now.

I enjoy hats making such statements, because when you wear them you are doing so publicly. It’s an opportunity to share a message and offer anyone paying attention a chance to think about something of value and importance. Let’s call it a testimony of sorts. The way I see it, it stands for something you value or believe in.

Now, I have observed just as many tee shirts and hats conveying derogatory and negative statements. Needless-to-say, I notice them, too. However, those types of statements aren’t inspirational to me. They don’t motivate or drive me toward all that is good, which is what I want.

I personally have hats which read LOVE > HATE, PIMPIN JOY and OFF THE BEATEN PATH. All express a little bit about me and the messages I want to put out there. I like to think most of the time I am transmitting an image of goodness, integrity and positive character. I believe such good messages are highly needed today. I know I need them!

In any case, the words “Trust Thyself” seem a couple of good words to ponder and share with the world.

Ralph Waldo Emerson utilized these words as a metaphor for the faith each person puts on himself; a self-reliance. More specifically, he said “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”

These two words masterfully bookend each other and point to a stronger message on building oneself up instead of tearing oneself down. It’s such a positive message to benefit from.

Trust itself refers to hope, honesty, safety, goodness and reliability. It points to having favor and confidence in a person, place or thing.

Thyself (you) speaks to the idea of looking inward toward yourself.

In other words you turn all elements wrapped up in the ideology of what trust is and should be and point them directly back at yourself as if looking deeply into your own eyes in the mirror.

Do you “trust” yourself?

What does it mean to find trust within oneself?

Quite possibly if we felt more in tune within ourselves and touched upon some sense of peace, joy, contentment and confidence which lies within we would be more apt to understand such trust. Naturally, this takes plenty of work and nurturing to uncover and sustain.

Not only that, it makes sense to me how if we learn or have such trust within, we are able to find more trust outside of ourselves too…with others.

Finally, trust leads to trusting. We demonstrate an unquestionable belief in those individuals proving themselves honest and sincere. Ergo, we surround ourselves with such people to strengthen our own core beliefs without compromising our own uniqueness.

In short, I guess I’d say I support the idea. It points to positivity in motion. It’s active and easily applicable.

“Trust Thyself” more fully and openly. It’s an attractive quality, isn’t it?

It’s just another idea to think about this week. Heck! Why not put it on a tee-shirt or hat and wear it around and see if anyone notices!

In my opinion, it always pays to share the good news.

Enjoy contemplating it.

Cheers!

Spilling the Beans!

Spilling the Beans!
By Allen Merritt ©2018

For some reason the thought, “Spilling the beans” popped into my head this morning and I immediately wrote it down wondering why I thought it and what it could mean in respect to maintaining a sense of the positive.

As I ponder the phrase I remember it as a reference to someone letting the cat out of the bag or accidentally divulging something before it was time to share it. Perhaps it refers to revealing the truth. Or, in some instances, it might signify making a mess and having to clean it up. At times the idea is about sharing information meant to be private such as a secret.

I suppose there are many connotations wrapped around such an idiom. In fact, there is a kids game called, “Don’t Spill the Beans,” which plays off the idea. The object is to get rid of all your beans by placing them into a pot without being the first to tip the pot over. If you tip the pot over and spill the beans, you get all the beans and the other player wins the game. In this case, spilling the beans serves many purposes. One allows a player to win and free themselves from carrying all the beans and the other piles the bean burden onto someone else.

I think spilling the beans in its best terms refers to healing and letting go of things one might be holding onto. Letting go of negativity is an example. Allowing oneself to be truthful and honest is another. If you are holding onto feelings, emotions, problems and hurtful ideas, it seems a good thing to spill those beans and let the chips fall as they may. Ergo, spilling the beans is like letting out a huge sigh of relief and allowing those feelings of burden (beans) and heavy laden to fall off your shoulders.

If the weight of carrying such troubles becomes intolerable, shedding such unwanted tribulations may prove helpful and take us back to a happy medium; bring balance back into the status quo and provide a sense of a much needed positive mindset.

Makes sense to me!

While in some cases spilling the beans denotes negative ideals such as gossiping and leaking information, it can also be incredibly helpful in context such as representing confession or ability to discuss or talk freely about what is going on in our minds or hearts. After all, everyone needs someone they can confide in and/or talk to; lend an ear. Sometimes we just need to talk about “it.”

What happens when you hold on to things and keep them bottled up inside?

Well, I know from personal experience growing up that if you keep things bottled up inside eventually you will implode and/or explode creating more havoc as a result and possibly hurting other people in the process.

As a loner and an only child, I carried the “shyness” and “awkward” genes and didn’t know better for the longest time. So when I consider the idea of spilling the beans, I think of it as it relates to becoming free of oneself. It’s a positive thing taken in proper context.

Of course, it isn’t always good to speak to soon or lash out. That is not what I mean. In many cases, allowing events to play out naturally by being quiet often yields good results and/or weeds out the negative. And quite naturally one doesn’t want to spoil a fun surprise by blurting out information either.

No, for the purpose of this discussion, spilling the beans signifies personal well being and self-healing as it pertains to our improved outlook on life, learning and living. Don’t let the hurt hold on to you; spill the beans (find someone to talk to even if it is in prayer). Don’t let something bother you or sit and stew within. Spill the beans. Speak your truth in the most considerate way possible.

Don’t be afraid to tell yourself, “I’m going to let this one go.” from time to time when appropriate.

Spill the beans or Don’t Spill the Beans that is the question!

Have a great week working your way to all that is good.

Cheers!

A Little Less Talk & A Lot More Action!

A Little Less Talk & A Lot More Action!

By Allen Merritt ©2018

What can I write today to promote all that is good in light of what we face each day; to encourage a positive mindset for us all?

There’s plenty going on out there in the real world with horrendous wildfires obliterating entire townships and displacing its families, more shooting incidents and a continuous façade of fake politics.

As usual, I want to help do more than discuss condolences, prayerfulness and mindfulness in the face of such atrocities. I have heard and/or seen social media postings on how angry people are becoming as they tire of listening to commentary suggesting how important people in positions of power are offering only their prayers following an incident. More specifically, what I am seeing are messages which convey an interest in how people are NOT interested in hearing it anymore.  They are asking the power players NOT to offer prayers or sympathy, because it’s all contrived.

This suggests that as emotions run high, talk is cheap and meaningless dribble only utilized to put on a show or put on errs. It isn’t heartfelt and it accomplishes zilch in the end. Ultimately, people feel nothing good comes from it.

They want answers. They want solid solutions to remedy ongoing problems; or, as one song reiterates, “A little less talk and a lot more action.”

And it doesn’t help when certain parties make unfounded statements which seem to only stir the embers causing a backlash of commentary, especially in the face of geological disasters and loss of human life.

I get it. I understand. I see it played out every day.

However, if there is anything I would want to say in regard to any of these events, it would be this: I believe the power of many individuals coming together in a prayerful and mindful spirit is beneficial for everyone. No, it doesn’t resolve the issues at hand, but it can start a process of healing from one good neighbor to the next.

I am profoundly impacted from the idea of foregoing prayer and any mindfulness consideration in light of any situation needing repair, because I believe there is nothing better to get the ball rolling toward fixing any problem; and, it doesn’t matter what faith background you identify with. Positivity helps!

When I think on it further I see many individuals who would like to lend a hand as they are able. Some offer money, some take action and offer time and talent while others can only offer moral support, thoughtfulness and prayers toward a better outcome for all in light of unusual circumstances which endeavor to bring us down.

Let’s remember how prayers and thoughts are something to lift us up so that we can move forward in any situation we face. We need to start with prayer and then back it up with positive helpful action. Maybe we are forgetting the latter part of that statement.

Maybe we need to also set an example by offering something more than a mere promise, but a sincere interest in working toward managing and navigating toward successful solutions. Indeed, that would require us to use a little less talk and a lot more action.

My point for today is based on beginning with and accepting those prayers, condolences, good thoughts and good vibes. Do not discard them. Let’s work on building a stable foundation for growing and building something by not disregarding such principles. Let’s not be so angry we forget our spiritual core and our true human spirit.

I liken this to how fans and cheerleaders spur on their favorite sports teams even when their falling behind. They cheer them on anyway. It’s all about good vibes and a positive spirit of encouragement to get out there and do your best to win the game or finish the race. When it comes to real life issues, it is the same. We need to spread the good vibes and positive energy. 

There is no better place to start then with prayer, quiet contemplation, consideration, mindfulness, as well as good and helpful thoughts toward our fellow men/women.

Maybe the phrase, “A little less talk and a lot more action” actually means starting with prayer (a little less talk) and proceeding into solutions (a lot more action).

Not only that, it conveys a sense of one person caring for another.

It’s easy to lash out, but not so easy to walk in the other mans shoes.

It’s something further to think about.

Enjoy the week living on a positive note.

Cheers!

Backed Into a Corner!

Backed Into a Corner!

By Allen Merritt ©2018

Yesterday, I sat in the coffee shop shuffling through social media applications when all of a sudden a small, young, white, blonde hair girl rushed into the place heading toward the bathrooms, which were both locked. She was frantic. Not only that, but she was backed into a corner. Not a moment later two hefty African American women appeared nipping at her heels. It was evident a fight might ensue.

I looked up and paid close attention.

The two girls literally blocked the other one so there was no way for her to escape while they pointed fingers in her face. The young girl was screaming, “Leave me alone. I’m having a bad day. Get away from me.”

One of the two girls on the attack said something like, “Go ahead and call me the “N” word again.”

It quickly became clear that a verbal slander may have taken place outside and the two girls were not going to let it go. Instead, they wanted to defend themselves against such things by giving the single girl a verbal thrashing as well, along with a few raised fists.

One of the coffee shop employees (a tall young man) soon arrived onto the scene to help all three ladies understand they were not going to be able to have their little escapade on the property. He asked them to leave.

The two girls calmly left without causing further disturbance.

The single girl was still defensive as she left doing everything she could to get the others off her trail.

Now, I cannot tell you exactly what happened. But if I were to guess, the single girl may have let loose an unfortunate derogatory comment, which didn’t land two well with the other girls creating a negative circumstance and causing a tirade.

When people attack other people verbal or otherwise, intentional or unintentional, there is always an impact. Feelings are hurt. Tempers flare. Hate begets hate.

There is a lesson here to learn. If we put out the negative vibes, we can expect them to come back around to us and sometimes all too quickly. I’ve seen it happen more than once. Think of all the sayings verifying this idea.

What goes around comes around.

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Misery loves company.

What you put out there comes right back to you.

Karma! Karma! Karma!

It occurs to me how if any person on this planet wants to nurture and grow a peaceful environment, effort must be initiated to do so. We must think twice before we speak. It doesn’t matter if we are having a bad day or not. Limit what you say until you day is getting better; until you have a grasp on self-control. This includes writing emails and sending out tweets.

A public display of anger disrupts everything and encourages others to do the same.

We live in an age where well known individuals are encouraging others to rally up against each other to the point of fighting, shooting and ultimately death. It makes no sense to me, but it happens nonetheless.

People who bully, shame and inflict pain on others need to stop, but nobody seems interested in following through with improving human relations by setting better examples of how to do so.

In fact, I can tell you that I like to post positive messages and pictures of things I see supporting these ideals in the real world. What I have noticed is very few people will notice or respond to such postings. For example, I posted a mural I found which simply stated, “PEACE” and it received very little “Likes.” I found the same was true for another mural reading, “GRATITUDE.” What this demonstrates to me is a how most individuals may say they believe in supporting ideas of peace, joy, gratitude, encouragement and similar terms; but when push comes to shove they really do NOT support it.

The other side of the coin shows a glimmer of truth for what IS supported. People will indicate they “LIKE” all sorts of negative commentary.

My message today is founded on the principle that it doesn’t take much to right a situation and make it better. The tongue may be sharper than the sword, but it can also provide a measure of good healing when utilized properly.

Why put yourself into a situation where you may be backed into a corner?

Interestingly enough, not once did I hear an apology or any effort to diffuse the situation from the parties involved. Who knows what would have happened should someone not have intervened at least to advise them they are in the wrong place to display such behavior.

Moreover, I found myself sending out some good prayerful thoughts that nothing more serious would happen outside the coffee shop or further down the street as a result of what I witnessed.

People are getting all riled up and allowing themselves to fire off in anger too easily these days. Many of them are getting caught in the act. Why? Because it simply is wrong no matter how you look at it. The news is fraught with these situations being caught on video. Those inciting individuals are losing their jobs, reputations and experiencing further negative circumstances as a result of flying off the handle for no legitimate reason. They are also often times misrepresenting the truth. In other words, they are making up stories and trying to sell them as truth. And, it isn’t working!

Don’t let this happen to you. Keep life on the up and up and personify joy and a little more understanding. Don’t let yourself get backed into a corner or caught in such a mess. What good will it do to cause another person such pain except to experience as much pain yourself in return?

Personify positivity!

Allow the positive to emanate within and without.

Then we nurture peace, as well as grow self-esteem and confidence.

It’s something to think about this week as we endeavor to live life on a positive note.

Have a good one.

Cheers!