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| Shaman Smiles |
Remember a few days ago I wrote about the Native American and Buddhist beliefs regarding nature and how we should learn from it? My friend Shaman, shown in this photo, is a great example of that. He was always ready to believe the best of everyone he met. He never seemed to anticipate that anyone he met was less than good.
Not to say he was anybody's fool! If a new acquaintance "smelled wrong" he recognized that fact. Depending on how "wrong" they smelled, he would proceed to either ignore them or quietly warn them away with body language or a low growl. I never saw him act aggressive without provocation.
His personality was beautiful, loving, lovable, full of joy. He just naturally expected the best ... and he usually got it! Close to a hundred pounds of muscle, fur and teeth bounding at you can be pretty intimidating yet even people who were afraid of dogs embraced him!
He was an embodiment of "thoughts are things!" His attitude guaranteed that he he would be loved and respected. His point of view set the tone for his life and that of those he interacted with. Why can't we humans do the same?
We could learn well from Shaman. Thoughts become manifest. Expectations are usually met. Years of experience (expecting the worst or the best) have convinced me that expecting the best generally brings much better results than expecting or anticipating the worst. I'm not a Pollyanna - I don't think every problem/issue/concern can be resolved by simply positive thinking. However, if positive thinking causes us to take positive steps, I do believe we'll end up much further ahead than allowing negative thoughts and expectations to lead us to stagnation, no action and no "thinking outside the box."
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