We cannot control what goes on around us,
but we can choose what we invite in.
Imagine the following scenario. You’re getting ready to have dinner with your family or a few friends when the doorbell rings. Not expecting anyone else, you cautiously look through the peephole or check the security camera. You see a stranger. Do you unlock the door, throw it open, and invite him in?
No. You would most likely not choose to let in an unknown person, someone who might be anything from annoying to dangerous.
If we are careful about who we invite into our home, why are we so careless about what we welcome into our mind? Just because something pops up on the television or in social media, or in conversations around us, it doesn’t mean we should readily admit such things into our life. Into our minds. It’s our decision whether we allow the ill will and daily drama into our minds.
We can throw open the door to all and sundry.
Or we can choose to only invite in that which we know is safe and beneficial.
Article originally appeared on a buddhist perspective (http://www.abuddhistperspective.org/).
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