We can enjoy these beautiful goldfish only as long as their filter is working properly. If it malfunctions or stops, they run the risk of getting sick and possibly dying.

 

They depend on clean water just as we depend on clean air. Their working filter removes impurities from their environment.

 

Comparatively, we have a built-in filter that we can use to keep our personal space free from impurities. It’s called our mind, which is the home of our thoughts.

 

Not just a few. It’s estimated that we have 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day. Some sources say as low as 12,000 and as high as 100,000. Therefore, it’s to our benefit to use our mind to filter out the ones that might impact our personal environment in a negative way.

 

A teacher of mine once said, “If we’d clean up our own thoughts, the natural environment would automatically clean up.” Is our mind, which encompasses our thoughts, that powerful?

 

The only way to know, is to prove it for yourself. And that takes discipline and dedication.

 

I’m reminded of a story in which a man peeks over his neighbor’s fence. He looks at his garden and exclaims, “Oh, the magnificent works of God.” His neighbor looks up and says, “Hey, you should have seen it when God had it alone.”

 

Perhaps a little discipline and dedication is worthwhile.

 

“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow:
Our life is the creation of our mind.” ~ Buddha