Changing Stories and Perceptions

Today I am grateful for trustworthy friends and shared laughter. I am also grateful for the wisdom that  we can draw on from years of experience--whether it be work, marriage, life.

As I continue to reflect on 1700 blog posts and what the experience of this blog has taught me and shown me, this quote bears repeating:

"Change the story and you change perception; change perception and you change the world."

Jean Houston

My story and perceptions were comprised of narrow-minded self-pity and inhibitions for the first two decades of my life. Both started to change when I got sober at age 24. If I hadn't stopped drinking, my story could have been cut short. It was the grace of a Great Spirit that helped me survive excessive drinking, drunk driving, and depressed thinking. 

Sobriety was a start, but the perception changing has taken longer. Recovery practices help in many ways, and one of the most effective practices has been gratitude practice, living gratefully day by day, moment by moment. That's my goal. I fail at it daily. But I also succeed at it daily. It's as simple as writing in my gratitude journal each morning, or pausing to smell the fresh air as I step outside.

A subtle shift in perception and less self-pity started opening my eyes and expanding my horizons. Open eyes helped me see beyond my own mind, which had often been a prison to me. Open eyes and open mind helped lead to a more open heart and reaching my own soul, which had been buried behind misperceptions.

My story changed. My view of the world around me changed and continues to change. The view I have of myself and the stories I add to my life each day are far more friendly and hopeful than they tended to be in my early years. 

These changing perceptions, and getting out of my own head, have given me energy and direction to contribute to the world. It started when changed perceptions helped me stop contaminating my own existence. And that truly started when I was five years sober and began to practice gratitude regularly. 

Try it. It works. It truly does.