The lens through which we look at life

I love the angels’ analogy of photography in their article today. I started sharing photos of nature years ago when I realized the amount of beauty all around me. A walk in the woods while talking or thinking about challenges is just a walk, but a walk spent looking for beauty is a magical, enchanted journey of life, moving through life and appreciating life. My quest for good things to photograph years ago has helped me search for good things in all aspects of life, and life keeps presenting more.

I’ve been sharing the story of converting my business structure to an LLC. The legal stuff was handled in record time. However, the bookkeeping, converting thousands of teeny tiny charges to the new cards and banking, is a lot of work. So, I’m “pointing my camera” and “choosing my lenses” carefully in order to stay in a higher vibe.

When I’m up to my eyeballs in checking numbers on spreadsheets to make sure they all balance, I remember how good it will feel in the future to have everything in a new level of order. Changing the “lens” through which I look at this helps me return to work with renewed vigor and purpose. When I can’t find that good feeling, I take a breather, get a good cup of tea, wander in the yard, and just “point the camera” elsewhere for a bit till I’m ready to get back to my tasks and actually enjoy them.

Likewise, I saw an interview with the former head of a huge corporation the other day and was horrified to hear this man say that he left because the company was promoting more work-life balance. He made it clear that he believed this was ridiculous and that you never “win” or “beat the competition” by doing so. He proceeded to talk about the work “ethic” needed to “win.” I nearly went into a fit of disgust. I was ranting in my own mind.  What type of “ethic” kills people to make money? What kind of person wants to turn human beings into robots to build robots so robots can make you more money that you won’t even give a rip about on your deathbed if you have not loved? What kind of “win” is it if you lose your soul along the way? He wants to turn people into sheeple. My mind was like a runaway train, and it felt terrible. My vibration plummeted.

Thank God, I have practiced feeling good often enough that it was unacceptable to feel so bad. I caught myself and “changed the lens.” I asked God to show me this man through the lens of love. I saw a little boy whose parents’ version of success was being smart and materially savvy.  I saw his concern about being seen as someone who wanted to make a difference. I saw his beliefs around money being tied to human worth. And I felt compassion. Nothing had changed. I disagree with his perspective so vehemently that I could write a whole book on the subject, but that train of thought—that lens—does not make me feel good. That lens doesn’t contribute to a kinder energy in the human race. The lens of love and compassion does.

And then, before my mind went back to its old habits, I “pointed the camera” elsewhere. I looked at all the amazing people I know who care about their souls and the souls of others. I looked at the fact that this old-school notion of success being tied to dollars is slowly but surely being replaced in the younger generations by a more humane definition of success as having what you want and being happy. I looked at the amazing companies that now care about their workers as human beings.  And I felt wonderful again.

It is so easy to get sucked into “pointing your camera” at things you don’t want to see. The world offers us a lot to look at!  It is easy to look through the “lenses” we’ve practiced looking through.  In things both great and small, however, we can improve our lives by looking elsewhere or perceiving differently.

Here are a few ways you can shift your focus in life for a better experience of it.

1.  Practice using different lenses

Some of you have heard this. I have a class where I have people look at challenges in their lives in three different ways. First, they tell the story the usual way (often negative). Next, they tell it with a neutral lens (just the facts). Finally, they share the story through an empowered “God’s eye) lens by putting a more positive spin on it, including what they’re learning, how it will help them in the future, etc.

It is amazing to feel the energy in the room go from dense to pure joy as people simply change the lens.

You can play with this in your own life. When something unpleasant happens, and you know you’re looking through a negative lens, see if you can view it through a more neutral one by sticking only to the facts. Then, see if you can’t find an even better lens. By challenging ourselves to do this, we practice and become stronger at seeing through our “God’s eye” lens!

2. Practice “Pointing the camera”

Play, as I did years ago in the woods, by challenging yourself to find pleasing things to observe. While waiting in line at the post office, see if you can find a kind soul or a pretty stamp on the wall. While dealing with someone who is intolerable, look in their eyes and challenge yourself to find some light of Divinity there. Or, look around the room and see if you can find something more pleasing. That failing, think of a thought that makes you feel better than this person’s behavior or conversation!

The more we practice “pointing the camera” at something more pleasing, be it a thing in the external world or a thought inside of our own minds, the better we get at raising our vibe easily.

3. Choose the lens of love when you can

I always ask God and the angels, “How do you see this?” Whether I lose my keys or see someone saying something that strikes me as incredibly unkind or ridiculous, I know that God, my soul, and the angels have a better view of it than I do. I sometimes ask them, “How do you see me right now?” when I’m not at my highest. When I sit quietly and wait for the answer, the love that pours through is amazing. The kindness through which the Divine and the angels look at life is mind-blowingly beautiful. Their compassion is unequaled. Like parents who can always see the good in the child underneath any behavior, they can see the love we or others are reaching for.

Years ago, an energetically powerful person became jealous of my friendship with a man. Unfortunately, this person played with darker energies and sent me all manner of nonsense. I was newer at this and didn’t understand that my fears allowed the mischief. When the angels finally told me about this individual’s childhood abuse, I suddenly found myself in tears of compassion. I began to pray for them. I was no longer afraid. The dark energy could no longer reach me, and it all stopped.  I’ve had several such things over the years, and in each case, when I ask to see through the “God’s eye” lens, the compassion completely prevents the lower vibes from getting in.  If you ask for this kind of help, you will receive it.

We can’t change the world. There’s a lot of anger going around as people resist the inevitable growth and evolution of the human race. There’s a lot of fear as people give their power to other human beings instead of God. There’s a lot of concern about the future, the economy, etc., But these fears have existed for centuries. These upsets will come and go.  What remains constant, as the angels say, is our power to curate the human life experience, “pointing our camera” (mind) and choosing our lens (perception) to have a better or even joyous experience of life.