Tinker Bell
is known today from films released in early 2000’s. However Tinker Bell first entered the arena in J. M. Barrie‘s 1904 play Peter Pan and its 1911 novelization Peter and Wendy. . Walt Disney adapted her to represent the sprinkling of light and joy when she appeared to dust the Disney logo with her fairy dust. As the mascot to Disney Studios she became an archetype to boomers of changing the dark into light, the sad into joy, simply by sprinkling her fairy dust.
I ask your indulgence in running with that metaphor of Tinker Bell’s fairy dust as light.
We all have the potential to change the darkness into light. It is as simple as changing your thoughts. Changing thoughts may not appear to be easy, but it is simple. The concept is simply stated as: each time you have a negative thought convert it to a positive one. That is all. Be mindful.
This implies that you know your thoughts. This is why it may not be so easy. Unless we meditate we cannot know our thoughts unless we see them in action. Thoughts do become actions. Think of being thirsty. We take an action to get a drink. Sometimes we may do something and not know why we took that action; we are unaware of the thought that provoked the action.
So let’s tie in thoughts, Tinker Bell and Yoga. The late B.K.S. Iyengar said,
“You must purge yourself before finding faults in others. When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you are making the same mistake. This is the way to take judgment and to turn it into improvement”.
So when we can practice this quote we can begin to sprinkle the light of fairy dust. Or else when one thinks of someone/something negatively, one will find oneself gleeful when another fails, unsupportive when one succeeds. So what is the payoff of keeping negative thoughts? This is the question! What is the payoff?
If you wait attentively you will see that there is no payoff that is of beneficial value. Negative thoughts usually result from a belief that you are alone, and non-supported; you are in a comparative state; my needs are more important than, or less important than, etc. You fail to see the bigger picture.
Enter the little fairy whose size is diminutive but who delivers unlimited light. Let the fairly dust fall. The truth is that negative thoughts develop out of habit and forgetfulness. We forget that we are all part of one universal team. We forget the helpfulness that has occurred in our life in the past and lose faith in the positive and hopeful. We think otherwise.
Had we paid attention, we would have seen that what really happened was one door was closing so we could turn and look at another door that was opening: if we only turned around. Because we did not turn around, we missed the opening door and focused only on the one that closed. We drew a judgement that perpetuates the futuristic thinking that this could happen again, worry ensues, anxiety heightens, negative thinking spirals down, down, down. Quick….. think of Tinker Bell and fairy dust.
Think that Tinkerbell can wave the magic wand and let the light help you remember all the good things:
Do not forget that the Universal life force is Omniscient.
Do not forget all the times that you were well taken care of and supported.
Do not forget how little you know when you think in the isolated individual brain.
Talk it out or write it down. But do expand your thinking with the fairy dust.
Use the metaphor to take you out of negative thinking and into positive happy thoughts of gratitude and into The Immensity.