Spirituality: Attitude = Reality

I was once told that I don't deal with ‘reality.'  I defended myself with the response, "of course I do.  However, my reality is different than yours!"  That set me to thinking about why there are so many realities.  My conclusion surprised me because I had never given it any thought.
 
Just think, for a moment, how often have you had a discussion with someone about a reality, but how different were the viewpoints?  Same reality, right?  However, it was viewed differently.  Do you remember the often quoted analogy of whether the glass is ‘half empty or half full?'  That's what I am referring to.  Either response would be correct; however, the response is based on the individual's attitude.
 
I totally believe that our reality is based on our attitude and when I am exercising my free will to choose how I want to view a situation, that doesn't make my reality ‘wrong'.  It probably means that I am a happier person because of that choice.  When I have used the analogy of the glass, I like to add, "And whom do you think is happier with their ‘reality', the person who sees lack (half-empty) or the person who sees plenty (half-full)?
 
That reminds me of a story of two shoe salesmen who were sent to an island to sell shoes.

All the natives were barefoot so the first salesman wired the home office saying,  "Returning home at once, no one here wears shoes."  The second salesman wired back and said, "Urgent, send me 10,000 pairs.  No one here wears shoes!"   Amazing, eh?  Same reality (no one wore shoes), however, the attitude made the difference.  Now this is just a guess on my part, but  I'll bet the salesman with the potential sales was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of so many sales.
 
Here is another story that illustrates my point.  The Israelites looked at Goliath and said in despair, "He's so big we'll never bring him down."  David looked at Goliath and said, "He's so big I can't miss!"  Once again, the same situation (the giant Goliath), however, the attitude created a totally different reality.
 
The good news is....YOU are in charge of your attitude/reality!   It won't happen overnight and it will take some concentrated effort on your part to make changes, however, those efforts will be worth it because your world will be a happier place.  You don't have to change anyone else - just YOU.  If someone you know prefers to see the glass half empty, that is their right; you are not in charge, nor responsible, for the reality of someone else.   What a relief, eh?  It takes enough effort to make our own personal changes; I'm so happy I don't have to make changes for anyone else.
 
A closing thought, "If you can't change the direction of the wind, adjust your sails."
 
You can reach Sally at ssaulits@nc.rr.com