The Little Man

Some time ago I was walking past my laptop and noticed a consistent forming and reforming of 3 dimensional pipes on the screen.  The screen saver was doing what it was programmed to do when not in use.  Of course, once I sat down and went to work, it snapped right to attention. 

 Isn't that just how our brain works?  We are always thinking, whether we're aware of it or not.  And what may be really scary is what we are thinking when we are not thinking – our mental screen saver.  I believe that what is on that screen saver is the key to where we are really headed, the future we have yet to realize.  Are we not thinking about what we don't want, don't have, or fear?  Are we not thinking about a recent argument with our spouse, or one we think we'll have in the next few minutes?  Are we not thinking about the poor sales we're experiencing, the money we don't have, the shape we're not in, the promises and commitments we haven't kept?  Remember, even when we're not thinking we are thinking – potentially hours upon hours each day!

 Years ago we taught our kids why and how to guard their gates – mostly their eyes and ears.  But this advice isn't just for kids – it’s for all of us who care where we are going.  Decide to filter what influences your thoughts, and thereby your screen saver.  Just as a background music at a department store can set the music in our minds much of the day, our environment – aware of it or not – is always influencing what makes up our screen saver. 

 I remember hearing Earl Nightingale's classic recording from the 1950's, The Strangest Secret.  He spoke of a great earth machine, with all its size, power and influence – being led by a tiny little man sitting way up on top.  The machine really doesn't care; it just does what it is directed to do.  Moving forward, be ever more deliberate about engaging that little man – to get that screen saver working for you.