Life is Beautiful!

One of the greatest challenges that we face from day to day is choosing how we will think. It was the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, who summed up this challenge in eight simple words - words that can change our lives: "Our life is what our thoughts make it." King Solomon said something similiar when writing the Proverbs: "For as a man thinks within himself, so he is (23:7). It naturally follows that the way we think is directly related to how we will feel. There is always a connection between thought and feeling.

The great English poet, John Milton, who lived in the 17th century, discovered the truth of these eight words when he said, "The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven." Startling words, are they not? And yet, if we reflect on what Milton is saying, I'm sure we will agree that our thoughts determine the kind of life we will live. In fact, both Napoleon and the writer, Helen Keller, are perfect examples of this. Napoleon once wrote at the height of his influence, power and life of riches, "I have never known six happy days in my life;" while Keller - blind, deaf and dumb - declared: "I have found life so beautiful."