You are not a victim of your out-of-control thoughts.

The mind is the capital of the body – every organ of the body was made to be a servant to the mind. ~Ellen G White

I recall an encounter with a man who was a complete emotional mess. He must have been in his mid to late 50s. Amid the persons around him, he was hurling explosive diatribe (bitter verbal attack against them), then he would break into tears, then return to his diatribe.

The people he was exhibiting the behavior towards did not know how to respond to him. In fact, they remained silent. When he finally spoke to me, he began telling me all of the horrible things that happened to him in his past and proceeded to default to his meltdown tears. I listened and empathized with him and then looked him very direct in the eye and with a firm but a calm voice said, “you are not your trauma.” I explained to him he was not his trauma, there was no need to camp out at the site of his prior traumas, and he definitely was not the victim of the resulting out-of-control thoughts. He absolutely had the power to overcome all that life had hurled at him and emerge stronger, and he did not have a license to abuse others because of his past.

After I spoke those words to him, it was as if he was hearing it for the first time. He immediately ceased all of his actions and seemed like a completely different person. It was amazing to watch. When I first met him, he seemed to be hurling 100,000 words per second but after my statement, he slowed it down considerably to a conversational reflective pace.

He looked at me, this time composed, calm, and even standing a little straighter, thanked me and said he was meant to meet me, among other things he said. I told him the next time I met him, I didn’t want to recognize him because he would have really transformed his life for the better. He agreed and said he would get to work on that.

When I think of that encounter, I can’t help but remind you that the power to control your mind is in your hands. You can live the abundant and brilliant life you desire but to do so starts with recognizing that you do have the ability i.e. the power to choose to control your mind, and contrary to the status quo, you are not a victim of your out-of-control thoughts. Also, know that your ability to control your mind is not a one-time thing. It is a daily lifelong practice that includes taking care of your mind, body, and soul. You must be very determined to change your thought patterns and have your thoughts reflect the positive, fearless, and abundant life you desire.

Step into your greatness, start now.

With love,
~Ms. Uduak