It has been dreary here in Boulder the last couple of days. It reminds me of the Pacific Northwest where I grew up under cloudy days and lots of moisture in the form of rain. I feel kind of under the influence of the dreariness. Does that happen to you too? Are you affected by the circumstances around you? Of course you are.

Yes you and I are in relationship to everything around us from atmospheric pressure; to the moods of the people we work with; to the rhythms of the moon and tides; to our own flow of emotions; and so much more.

Your response ability (worded uniquely here) is to be aware of your thoughts and the emotional resonance you have to what is going on around you. In other words how you feel and think about the situations you find yourself in, will affect you experience of it. Your thoughts can be receptive and expansive to what is present or closed down and protected. That is human nature to either be in contraction or expansion.

The purpose of these thoughts I am sharing with you is as a reminder that you and I have the ability to shape our experience no matter what is going on around us. The dreary weather can remind me of the mystical lands of Taoist China or bum me out resurrecting my PTSD from my childhood shrouded in rain. That PTSD is more than a slight exaggeration but in fact a mind bent on traumatizing about the past is more than capable of it.

As I have written often here, our minds/thoughts are powerful influencers in whether we experience life in a positive or negative light, in an expanded way or allowing ourselves to be run by our fears. So choose carefully what thoughts you want to have/create. In the conscious choosing, life becomes the results you want to create. Short of that level of awareness you run the risk of a willy-nilly life in which you can feel more victim than creator.

Have a conscious thoughtful day.