Pay Attention to You
My focus is my domain.
I let go of what has been weighing me down. The things that I have been carrying around? I surrender them up. I know that my friend, The Universe, will make all sublime in due time.
What are you carrying right now? Is it yours?
We spend so much time trying to figure out what other people are thinking. We study their faces. We replay their words. We search silence for hidden meaning and turn strange looks into something else entirely. We look under the bed, expecting monsters and finding them.
Meanwhile, our lives move on without us.
My focus is my domain.
Say this to yourself out loud ~
“My focus is my domain.”
Now stand up straight, take a deep breath, and put some mustard on it ~
“MY FOCUS IS MY DOMAIN!”
I can only control myself. I don’t control anyone else. So, the only person I really need to keep an eye on is me. And who decides where that eye is going to go?
I decide where it goes. I decide what receives my attention, my time, my energy.
When I spend time worrying about what somebody else thinks of me, I cease to exist. When I simulate some nightmare that may or may not happen, I’m stepping out of life. Trying to manage someone else’s mood? I have enough on my plate controlling myself.
So I take a deep breath ~ and I come back to myself.
I feel my feet on the ground. I tap the side of my hand. I look at the amazing wonderful world all around me.
I come back to myself.
Right here… right now? What can I do? I can choose my next move. That’s pretty much it!
Other people think their own thoughts. They feel their own feelings. They are them.
And that, quite simply, has absolutely nothing to do with me! I am not responsible for anyone else’s stuff. That is their stuff, not mine.
I do not have to climb inside their minds. It’s not my job to understand.
People are compelled to do things because they are themselves. What else would you expect? They have no choice in the matter ~ It’s who they are!
Why? I have no idea! Luckily, for you and me anyways, we do not need to know.
I am not responsible for other people's thoughts, feelings, or emotions. That's their stuff ~ not my stuff.
If you can, then say this with kindness. Say it without anger or blame ~
“That’s their stuff ~ not my stuff.”
But say it with emotion, and really any will do, so long as it is felt strongly.
“THAT is NOT my responsibility. THEIR stuff ~ NOT MINE.”
You cannot control another person, or at least, not for long anyways. Think of how hard it is to control yourself! Good luck collaring another person… free will is a vicious mistress.
You are not responsible for what other people think, do, or say. All you can do is you.
“I am responsible for MY thoughts, MY words, and MY actions ~ everything in my life.”
When my mind wanders into somebody else’s, I gently bring it home.
Back to my breath. Back to my body. Back to my life. Back to what’s happening now.
“My focus is my domain.”
My thoughts. My words. My actions. My domain.
“Other people’s stuff? No, that’s their stuff.”
Their thoughts. Their feelings. Their emotions? That is their stuff, not mine.
I am present. I am peaceful. I am free ~ when my focus is on my domain.