Tossly

Photo: Salvatore Vuono

This is a fairytale about a switch. (Or is it?)

Once upon a time there was a happy switch…

Really it wasn’t just a switch, it was a dimmer switch. Though everybody called it the happy switch, all the same.

The most visible thing about it, was that it moved from ON to OFF, but that was just the beginning…

This was one incredible switch. It was so very personal that everybody thought theirs was different, though it was exactly the same switch. Each individual could flip it as they saw fit.

It provided a way to use small steps to turn ON happiness.

The switch said individuals could look at happiness …

… In Moments.  The switch was adamant. Happiness takes place in the moment. Waiting for it won’t work. If you want to be happy, now’s the time. If you weren’t happy now, it’s not that it wouldn’t come again, but now was the time when you could be happy.

… In Opposites. ON would give light. OFF would make it darker. The switch said there were always these two side and that wasn’t bad, it was just the way it was.  For some people the switch will be ON a lot and for others, not so much.  The switch believed that knowing each side existed, would make it more normal for everyone to move from one to the other.

… In Responsibility.  Then the switch followed up with this thing about responsibility. It said each individual would be in control of their own switch.  No one else could use it. Sure, there would be many people – many people, who could influence it, both ON and OFF, yet who the individual chooses to spend their time with, was also their responsibility.

And then, the switch did something even cooler…

The switch said that each individual could move the switch towards ON and happiness when …

… They Recognized.  Wherever the switch was, it was OK. The individual just had to recognize which way they wanted to move it. The switch said you could do this by listening to yourself … and hearing what you were saying. It said that sometimes that would be harder than others, but that was just something to be recognized, not feared.

… They Forgave. The switch was concerned that people would dwell in the past, in their OFF moments and not flip him.  So he told everyone that forgiving, letting go and moving on, both in the moment and over time, would allow everyone to move easier. If you didn’t want to forgive it was OK, but the switch would be stickier.

… They Substituted. The switch knew that anyone who wanted to turn on the ON, had to have something to move it towards. Something to substitute for what was turning it OFF.  It said that there were many things individuals could do including; appreciating what they had, being grateful, kinder, more positive and more honest with themselves. It seemed so obvious, to switch you had to have something to move towards.

Then the last thing the switch said was that flipping him was done in a matter of seconds…

When somebody was ready to move from OFF to ON, in any area of their life,  it could be in a matter of seconds. It might not last for much longer, but the individual could always do it again. And again. Over time the switch knew it would tend to begin staying longer in the ON position.

The switch thought his message could be helpful to anyone who wanted to turn ON more happiness. So he went everywhere and told everybody. But saying it is one thing. Learning it is another.

Over the years it turns out that people who didn’t learn how to use their switch, kept bouncing back and forth between ON and OFF, looking for ways to use it better.

And the people who learned how to use it, all increased their potential for happy ever after – one step at a time.

And that’s the truth. (Or is it?)

Have fun,

Jim

P.S. The story goes on, that the fairytale had more than one type of switch. There were switches for success, love, gratitude, kindness, honesty and so many more.

But those are stories for another time…

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Tags: life skills, positive energy, wisdom

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 12th, 2010 at 1:03 am and is filed under How You Affect Change, Musings, Take Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.