Second Thoughts

One of my favorite magazines is the Magnolia Journal, produced by Joanna Gaines and her husband, Chip. It gives me a second thought. 
Their 2023 fall issue takes a closer look at the ‘perspective’ from where we view our lives, and why it matters that we make simple changes to our thoughts and open our minds. 
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Here’s a snippet from the article titled "Second Thoughts". The author Nicole Ziza Bauer begins with this perspective; “A single break in our everyday patterns holds potential to unlock and open our minds. 
Even in the most mundane ways, it’s easy to live on autopilot. But if at some point during that drive (home) you did something different, something unexpected, your brain would wake right up. And that inch of difference has a major payoff over time.” 

Bauer goes on to write that although our brain likes routine and comfort, the brain and its pathways don’t have to stay fixed.  “Small, everyday breaks in patterns disrupt what’s familiar and influence the way the brain fires and responds—as well as the way we relate to what’s around us. Our brain actually rewires. We become more flexible thinkers, more willing to step out of our own shadows to see things in a different light. What if you took a left instead of a right on your way home? Turned the page of a newly discovered book? Listened to an unfamiliar genre of music, enjoyed a midday walk, learned a new language?  

In that moment, it may just feel like a simple change of habit. But beneath the surface, our mind is opening to the world in new ways—enriching our perspective with every step. It’s here that we realize a first thought can be just the beginning.” 

I know the author presents a valuable perspective on rewiring our brain to new ways of keeping our mind awake. We want to continue growing and expanding our perceptions and thoughts. This keeps us aware of changes and connected to the world. Yet in a time when the world around us is full of different and unexpected events, we need to also trust and rely on our basic core values that have kept us grounded and feeling safe and sound. Not everything coming our way is an acceptable ‘new norm’ for us to simply accept and open our mind to it,  a ‘second thought.’

The saying, "don’t throw the baby out with the bath water"’ comes to mind. The truths we hold dear and our well-earned beliefs from years of tried, tested and reliable outcomes are an essential anchor for our mind’s stability. There are some views and perspectives that have served us well and we have learned and grown from them. We don’t want to throw them out. 

Strong, and healthy relations with our faith, family, friends, finances, and the future depend on our attention and flexibility to our thoughts. What we know about ourselves, what truly matters at the core of our being and staying open to a ‘second thought’ is a good conciliation for our brain to rewire and reenforce a balance between longstanding and new thinking that require a willingness to evolve alongside each other.  Not everything is good or bad, right, or wrong, but it’s worth a second thought!

Love,
Hilda