Did you ever wash
a load of laundry, say a load of whites, and a stray something or other that’s
bright red or blue or green gets thrown in by mistake?
Recently, we had
some guests and I did the laundry. Towels, mostly, but I decided to save a
little time by throwing in a table cloth. The towels were snow white. The table
cloth was mostly red. And . . . I ended up with nice pink towels. I found out
when Kim said with a groan, “Oh, Joe!”
Yup, I had some ‘splainin’
to do.
Over the years,
there have been faded this or that, oddly colored undies, mostly by my hand, I’m
afraid. I learn from it or try to learn from it and move on.
Then there are
those things we intend to dye. Every Easter, we dyed eggs. Sometimes fingers
and hands take on a nice shade of blue or purple that has nothing whatsoever to
do with cold or circulation. We make sure newspaper covers the table, but every
now and then, the wooden table top picks up a stray color.
And when the kids
decided they needed to tie-dye shirts, they did so. Our backyard took on the
look of a cheap sweatshop. All in good fun.
From his book, Meditations,
Marcus Aurelius writes, “The soul becomes dyed with the colour [sic] of its
thoughts.”
Lots of different
meanings for that quote, I think. Each of us might take something different
from it.
For me, I believe
it means that what I dwell on, I become. If I choose to see only the negative,
the nasty, the bad luck, and the heartbreak, my view of the world . . . my
world, becomes as I think it. If, on the other hand, I choose to see the
beauty, be it in struggle, in the attempt, in the effort, my view of the world
. . . my world, becomes as I think it.
It all comes down
to perception and perspective.
I can choose to
see a “no” or “not interested” as an affront, as a setback or even as a dead
end. Or I can see “no” or “not interested” as an opportunity, as a “not yet.”
I might spill the
coffee or juice. I might spill something on my shirt or slacks. I might get
stuck in traffic on the way to work. Any inconvenience, annoyance or any
disruption from what you or I might have planned can be cause for negativity,
might be cause for proclaiming loudly once again, “This always happens to me!”
And indeed, it might because we sometimes expect it to happen.
In the same book,
Aurelius writes, “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your
thoughts.”
I might add the “constancy”
and the “consistency” of your thoughts.
And lastly,
Aurelius writes, “When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is
to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...”
My nephew, Jared,
in his short life taken way too early, listened to the song, Play That Funky
Music because in his own words and with a smile that would light up the
darkest room . . . the darkest heart, “You can’t possibly listen to that song
and not smile!” A pretty cool philosophy on life! Might want to give it a try.
You see, there will
always be those who have less than we do, just as there will always be those
who have more than we do. Always. There will be those who seem to have all the
breaks, while others, perhaps ourselves, who seem to get swallowed up by each
break. But if we take good ol’ Marcus at face value, perhaps it is our
perception, our own thinking that sets us up for a rise just as our own
thinking sets us up for a fall. Perhaps.
Take solace in the
fact that we were able to get out of bed, breathe, shower, and drive off to
pursue a job, a dream, an opportunity . . . life. That’s always a good thing,
isn’t it? Perhaps check what it is we choose to use to Dye Our Thoughts. Something
to think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
My book, Caught in a Web has picked up some
terrific reviews recently. “…cruelty of bullying, unfairness of dying young,
horror of drug addiction; a writer who has seen what he writes about.” Authors Favorites “. . .probes the
worlds of teens and gang members...precise, staccato details . . . the right
blend of tension and intrigue . . .” Midwest
Book Review "Important, nail-biting . . . one of the year's best
conspiracy thrillers" Best
Thrillers. “An epic journey through the quagmire that teenagers are
subjected to in today’s schools . . . focuses on inexplicable issues where
there are no neat answers as to why these things happen or how to eradicate the
scourge.” AuthorsReading
In fact, for the
last Eight Months, Caught in a Web
has been on the Best Thrillers of the Year
List by Best Thrillers! And, it is #28
on the Online Book Club Best Books of
the Year List, and #4 in Crime-Thriller-Mystery on that same
list!
If you are
interested in finding out more about who I am or why I write what I do, I had the
great opportunity to have been interviewed recently on two video shows. You can
find them one hosted by Joseph Carrabis titled Author Plunge at http://www.josephcarrabis.com/2018/08/08/joseph-lewis-teens-drugs-and-gangs-o-my/#more-1443
The other is Author's Corner Live! Here is the link for the interview! https://www.facebook.com/Bridgetti.Live/videos/741588262840014/
So thanks to them
and to all who have taken a chance on reading Caught in a Web. If you are interested in a copy on either Kindle
or in Paperback, you can find it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696 or on Barnes and Noble at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caught-in-a-web-joseph-lewis/1128250923?ean=9781684330249
And if you do give
Caught in a Web a shot, please leave
a rating and a review. I would appreciate it. Thanks for this consideration!
I have some
exciting news:
Black Rose Writing, the
company that published Caught in a Web
has accepted for publication another of my books, Spiral into Darkness and it will be out in January 2019. On my author
page on Facebook, I will post passages and snippets from time to time and
keep you updated on the publishing progress. It is currently in the editing
process.
Connect with me on Social Media:
Twitter at
@jrlewisauthor
Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
