by Doug McColl, May 8, 2020
I like a lot of things. There are a lot of things that I dislike too. I could sit around and ruminate on all the things I dislike; the things I despise and that really bug me about certain things and people and the world. After a short while, this would get me angry, negative and feeling sorry for myself and my misfortune of having to share space with such things on this planet. Woa! As I wrote that I could feel myself ramping into a rageful rant (no alliteration intended). OK. On the other hand, as I sit here, I could easily think of things that I like. Some are memories of people, places and experiences. Some are things currently around me that I can sense…and sometimes just letting myself think or dream about all the good possibilities is something very satisfying and likeable! There are soo many things things that I like…well to be honest it kind of overwhelms me…in a good way of course. In fact, it just might float my boat and you could make your “likes”, float yours!
Being human is tough. Our senses take in all there is around us and it’s impossible to filter out everything we don’t like (there’s that frigging neighbours dog howling again when I’m trying to think!). The same senses also let in the beauty that stirs our souls and inspires beautiful, creative thoughts. If we try, we could fill a day with little, “I like it” moments, and harness this uplifting power. Therefore, if we can remind ourselves everyday of what we want to invest our thoughts in, we can like our human experience more!
Here is how I experience a better world and better life: I tune my eyes, ears, nose, taste-buds and hands like an antenna to the frequency of the things I like. And then, BAM, when one of those “likes” hits me…I can instantly “pick it up” , reflect on it (damn… that’s good!) and add it to my overwhelming list of things that I like. Every little “like” has a role to play. I am not just looking for examples of earth-shattering awesomeness, in fact most seem quaint and would likely be considered unremarkable to many people. But then, these people would be missing the icing on the cake, the spice of life, the buoyant feeling that comes with the realization that we are floating on an ocean of many things that we like!
Here are examples of, “I LIKE IT” moments, from a two minute period upon waking in the morning:
*I like the feeling when I yawn (think about yawning…awesome eh?)
*I like the way my head feels cradled by this soft pillow
*The warmth under these covers feels gooooood, mmmm I like it.
*Now for a stretch, but first I will anticipate how good it will feel…I like the anticipation, say what?
*And now the stretch, OMG another yawn too (WTF where’s that from? its like a 2-4-1 like moment!!)
*I like how the sun makes the frost on the window sparkle (verges on earth-shattering)
*mmmMMaking caaahhffee sooooon, mmmm, the aroma of fresh grinds, brewing, my beautiful coffee maker…soooo good to me. OH NO so many things to like, I can hardly stop! (busted… I’m a caffeine addict)
It also helps while experiencing an “I like it” moment by consciously, characterizing it with positive comforting words. Relate likes to other likes and positive connections that will give it strength and support (like growing peas and planting sunflowers to hold them up). Notice how my soft pillow cradled my head. It sounds like my pillow was really taking care of me…and of course…it was.
At the end of the day it feels good to know that we are being taken care of in a world where we are surrounded by things that we like. I didn’t even mention love. Like is OK. I love to like and I like to love. Each is reciprocated in the other. We can find plenty of what we don’t like, and sometimes it finds us, but if we are prepared it will be easier to let them go, to take away their power to push us to negativity because we will be busy being filled up by the constant, flowing interruptions of what we like. Try it!
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