I am halfway through spending three months in a retreat centre in Spain, teaching yoga and The Bright Path Ishayas’ Ascension meditation. Life is pretty darn good, as you might expect. The weather is sensational and we are surrounded by mountains and forests in which I get to run and explore on my days off.
Best of all, I get to live with all kinds of amazing people. There are some seriously cool human beings here.
One is a young fella from Norway called Thomas. Thomas is blind from birth but has the greatest attitude to life. He doesn’t let anything stop him from doing what he wants.
Try walking around your house with your eyes closed. Try doing yoga - or simply stand on one foot - with your eyes closed. Try just eating with your eyes closed.
Now imagine what it would be like to get yourself downtown and find the shop you want. Or get yourself to an airport and fly to another country where you don’t speak the language.
And everything he does, he does it all laughing, all day long.
The effect on everyone else is huge.
First of all, no one can complain about their small problems any more. Thomas and his attitude puts everything in perspective. They drop their “stuff” and just get on with life, enjoying it, squeezing this moment for what it has.
Second of all, everyone wants to help him out. He’s such a joy to be around, everyone wants to be around him.
You see, life follows a series of fairly simple rules. One of these is that what you put your attention on, grows.
If you focus on what you don’t have, on what is missing, on things that you regret then you end up complaining and in misery.
If, on the other hand, if you focus on the good, on what is great about your life, about what you do have - no matter how small - you will have an amazing time.
Since you have choice, how do you want to live?
Thomas walks into plenty of walls, but he never stops exploring, and he never stops smiling.
You, and you alone, define your life.
When you take responsibility for defining your life, you shake the world. When you refuse to be a victim to circumstance and just play your cards as you have them, you not only live a great life, you inspire everyone.
All your heroes have done nothing but the same: “I’m not waiting for someone to give me life, I'm going to take it.”
Choose to be a hero.