Negative thoughts don’t just happen;
they are there for a reason. They alert me to the fact that something
is wrong. I need to stop what I am doing, find out what is wrong, and
fix it.
Negative thoughts point in the direction of my problems. Unfortunately,
I may look at the pointing finger rather than to where the finger
points. When I look at the negative thoughts, I am looking at the
pointing finger. When I look at where the finger points, I see the
source of my negative thoughts. Once I know their source, I can do
something about them.
Negative thoughts give me positive feedback that tells me how I am
doing. If I solve my problems, my negative thoughts disappear. If I am
still charging up the hill of error, my negative thoughts persist.
Negative thoughts make my life better when they help me put my finger on
my problems and motivate me to take positive action. I don’t dwell on
negative thoughts any longer than necessary; nevertheless, when they pop
into my mind, I use them to make my life better.
I've done a lot of running in my life, and too much of it has been in
the wrong direction.
Nothing good comes from heading in the wrong direction. You're
wasting time and effort traveling to places that you really don't want to
visit.
No matter how fast you run, if it's in the wrong direction, you will
never live your dreams.
If you want to reach your dreams, you must know who you are and where
you are going. Once you figure that out, you won't end up heading in
the wrong direction. Every step will take you closer to your dreams.
These white camels have gone walkabout in the granite fields of central
Arabia. You'll find camels wandering throughout the countryside
everywhere you go, but don't make the mistake of thinking they are
wild. All the camels have brands on their head or neck (or elsewhere),
and their owners aren't far away. The camels range over a relatively
small area, and when the water truck shows up, the camels aren't far
behind. On more than one occasion, camels have pursued our Land Rovers
apparently thinking that we were the water truck.
TOO MANY DREAMS
There's no doubt about it. I've got too many dreams and not enough
time. But don't feel sorry for me. I'm one of the lucky ones. Most
people have too few dreams or no dreams at all, and they have unlimited
time in which to do nothing.
I know it's impossible to achieve all of my dreams in the time that
remains in my life, but that really doesn't matter, because nobody's
keeping score. It isn't important how many dreams I have. What's
important is that I am working on them.
Time is short, and I am running out of time, but thank God, I'm not
running out of dreams.
This granite field is only ten miles long and ten miles wide, but it's a
world unto itself. It contains villages, camels, wells, and abundant
wide open spaces. I'm standing on top of a twenty story batholith
surveying the granite out to the horizon. Prickly acacia trees follow
dried up river beds that recede into the distance.
We camped for two nights among the granite boulders before moving on to
volcano land which was several hundred kilometers to the west.
