Today as I was pulling out of the chiropractor’s office, an older lady, walking rather quickly on the sidewalk, caught my eye. She was clearly talking to me but I didn’t really hear what she was saying. It was something about the bus. As I waved her over, she asked me for a ride because she had just missed her bus, it would be an hour before the next one came, and she was too tired to wait.

I noticed a bit of an old automatic reaction starting — a feeling of being bothered by the request. I decided NOT to choose that autopilot reaction. Shifting quickly out of that and into a feeling of compassion and service, I said, “Sure hop in!” I had no idea where this woman needed to go but she said it was pretty close. Here she was in my car, a kind woman in need of a lift so she could get a nap at her friend’s apartment before having to go back downtown to get in line for the next meal. It turned out she only needed to go about a mile. We wished each other a Happy Valentine’s Day and she was off. It felt really good to have helped a sister out!

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Asheville, NC by Maleah Stein 2016

What I find so interesting is the automatic nature of negative responses, or responses filled with ‘what about me’ energy. It seems we actually have to consciously CHOOSE the positive over the negative.Another interesting point concerns that moment of choice. If we are aware, we can notice and then choose to follow either a negative-feeling energy or a positive-feeling energy. Both options are available in any moment and the fact that a negative one showed up first is not ‘bad’ and I’m not ‘bad’ for having that thought. The positive-feeling energy was right there for the choosing as well. It’s simply a matter of choice.It’s about BEING the change you wish to see in the world. So consistently decide to practice BEING positive: keep choosing positive-feeling responses, keep choosing service, and keep helping a brother or sister out!Much Love to You,Michelle