Sara, Book 1 (8 page)
Sara thought back over the last few days, during which she had experienced more negative emotion than usual. “You’re right, Solomon,” Sara announced. “I’ve been feeling more of that this last week, watching those boys being mean to Donald. I’ve been so happy since meeting you, Solomon, and then so mad about them teasing Donald. I can see how the way I feel has to do with what I’m thinking about.”
Good, Sara. Now, let’s talk about step two. Whenever you know what you
don’t
want, isn’t it rather easy to figure out what you
do
want?
“Well . . .” Sara trailed off, wanting to understand, but still unsure.
When you’re sick, what is it that you want?
“I want to feel better,” Sara replied easily.
When you don’t have enough money to buy something that you want, then what do you want?
“I want more money,” Sara replied.
You see, Sara, that is step two of breaking the chain-of-pain. Step one is recognizing what you
don’t
want. Step two is then deciding what you
do
want.
“Well, that’s easy enough.” Sara was beginning to feel better.
Step three is the most important step, Sara, and it’s the step that most people miss altogether. Step three is this: Once you have identified what it is that you do want, you must make that feel real. You must talk about why you want it, describe what it would be like to have it, explain it, pretend it, or remember another time like it—but keep thinking about it until you find that feeling place. Continue to talk to yourself about what it is that you
do
want until you
feel
good.
As Sara listened to Solomon actually encouraging her to spend time, on purpose, imagining things in her own mind, she could hardly believe her ears. She’d gotten into serious trouble for that very thing on more than one occasion. It seemed that what Solomon was telling her was exactly opposite of what her teachers in school were telling her. But she had come to trust Solomon. And she was certainly willing to try something different. Their way, obviously, wasn’t working.
“Why is step three the most important step, Solomon?”
Because, until you change the way you feel, you haven’t really changed anything. You’re still part of the chain-of-pain. But when you change the way you feel, you’re part of a different chain. You have joined Solomon’s chain, so to speak.
“What do you call your chain, Solomon?”
Well, I don’t really call it anything. It’s more about feeling it. But you might call it the Chain-of-Joy, or the Chain-of-Well-being. The Chain-of-Feeling-Good. It’s the natural chain, Sara. It is truly who we all are.
“Well, if it’s natural, if it’s who we all are, why aren’t more of us feeling good more of the time?”
People truly want to feel good, and most people want, very much, to be good. And that is a big part of the problem.
“What do you mean? How can wanting to be good be a problem?”
Well, Sara, people want to be good, so they look around them at the way others are living in order to decide what is good. They look at the conditions that surround them, and they see things that they believe are good, and they see things that they believe are bad.
“And that’s bad? I don’t see what’s bad about that, Solomon.”
What I’ve noticed, Sara, is that as they’re looking at conditions, good ones and bad ones, most people aren’t aware of how they are feeling. And that is what goes wrong for most of them. Rather than being aware of how what they are looking at is affecting them, in their quest for goodness, they keep searching out badness and trying to push that away. The trouble with that, Sara, is that the whole time they’re trying to push away what they think is bad—they have joined the chain-of-pain. People are much more interested in looking at and analyzing and comparing conditions than they are aware of how they are feeling. And often the condition drags them right off into the chain-of-pain.
Sara, think back over the past few days, and try to remember some of the strong feelings that you had. What was happening as you were feeling bad this week, Sara?
“I felt awful when Tommy and Lynn were teasing Donald. I felt awful when the kids laughed at Donald in class, and I felt the very worst of all when Donald yelled at me. All I was trying to do was help him, Solomon.”
Good, Sara. Let’s talk about this. During those times that you were feeling so bad, what were you doing?
“I don’t know, Solomon. I wasn’t really doing anything. I was mostly just watching, I guess.”
That is exactly right, Sara. You were observing conditions— but the conditions that you were choosing to observe were the kind that make you join the chain-of-pain.
“But Solomon,” Sara argued, “how can you not see something that’s wrong and not feel bad when you see it?”
That’s a very good question, Sara, and I promise you that in time I will answer it fully for you. I know that it’s not easy to understand this all at once. And the reason that it’s difficult to understand at first is because you have been trained to observe conditions, but you have not been trained to pay attention to how you feel when you’re observing—and so, the conditions seem to control your lives. If you’re observing something good, you have a good feeling response, and if you’re observing something bad, you have a bad feeling response. When the conditions seem to control your lives, that is frustrating for most of you, and that is what causes so many people to continue to join the chain-of-pain.
“Then, how can I stay out of the chain-of-pain so that I can help someone else out if they get in?”
Well, Sara, there are lots of ways to do that. But my favorite
—
the one that works the very fastest of all—is this: Think thoughts of appreciation.
“Appreciation?”
Yes, Sara, focus on
Yes, Sara, focus on something, or someone, and try to find thoughts that make you feel the very best. Appreciate them just as much as you can. That is the very best way to join the Chain-of-Joy.
Remember, step one is?
“Knowing what I
don’t
want,” Sara answered proudly.
She had that one down pat.
And step two is?
“Knowing what I
do
want.”
That’s very good, Sara. And step three is?
“Oh, Solomon, I forget,” Sara whined, disappointed at herself for forgetting so soon.
Step three is finding the feeling place of what you do
want.
Talking about what you do want until you feel like you’re already there.
“Solomon, you never told me what step four is,” Sara remembered, excitedly.
Ah, step four is the best part, Sara. That is when you get what you want.
Step four is the physical manifestation of your
desire.
Have fun with this, Sara. Don’t try too hard to remember all of this.
Just practice appreciation. That’s the key.
You’d better run along now, Sara. We can talk more about this tomorrow.
Appreciation,
Sara pondered.
I will try to think of things to appreciate.
Her little brother, Jason, was the first image that came to her mind.
Boy, this is going to be hard,
Sara thought, as she began walking from Solomon’s thicket.
Start with something easier!
Solomon called as he lifted from his post.
“Yeah, right.” Sara laughed.
I love you, Solomon,
she thought.
I love you too, Sara.
Sara heard Solomon’s voice clearly, even though he had flown far from her view.
S
omething easy,
Sara thought,
I want to appreciate something easy.
From a distance, Sara could see her next-door neighbor’s dog frolicking in the snow. He was leaping and running, then rolling on his back, obviously happy to be alive.
Brownie, you’re such a happy dog! I do appreciate you,
Sara thought, still over 200 yards away. At that moment, Brownie began running toward Sara as if she were his master and had called his name. Wagging his tail, he ran two full circles around Sara, and then, with his paws on her shoulders, this large, mangy, long-haired dog pushed Sara into a sitting position into the pile of snow that was left by the snowplow earlier that week—and he licked her face with his warm, wet tongue. Sara was laughing so hard she could barely get up. “Oh, you love me, too, do you, Brownie?”
Sara lay in her bed that night thinking about everything that had happened that week.
I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster. I’ve felt the best I have ever felt and the worst I have ever felt, all in one short week. I love my talks with Solomon, and, oh, how I loved learning to fly, but I got so mad this week, too. This is all very strange.
Think thoughts of appreciation.
Sara could have sworn she heard Solomon’s voice in her bedroom.
“No, that cannot be,” Sara decided. “I’m just remembering what Solomon said.” And with that, Sara rolled over onto her side, to ponder.
I appreciate this nice warm bed, that’s for sure,
Sara thought, as she tugged the blankets up over her shoulders.
And my pillow. My soft, snuggly pillow. I do appreciate this,
Sara thought, wrapping her arms around it and burying her face in it.
I appreciate my mother and my father. And Jas . . . and Jason, too.
I don’t know,
Sara thought.
I don’t think I’m finding that feeling place. Maybe I’m just too tired. I’ll work on this tomorrow.
And with that last conscious thought, Sara was sound asleep.
“I’m flying again! I’m flying again!” Sara shouted, as she soared high above her house.
Flying isn’t exactly the best word for this,
she thought.
More like floating. I can go anywhere I want to go!
With no effort at all, but just by identifying where she wanted to be, Sara moved easily across the sky, pausing now and then to examine something she hadn’t noticed before, sometimes swooping very close to the ground, and then lifting back up again. Up! Up! Up! She discovered that if she wanted to go down, all she had to do was stretch one toe toward the ground, and down she would go. When she was ready to go back up again, she just looked upward, and up she would go.
I want to fly forever and ever!
Sara decided.
Let’s see,
Sara puzzled,
where should I go now?
Sara moved along, way up over her little town, seeing lights blinking off, here and there, as family after family, house after house, settled in for the night. It was beginning to snow very lightly, and Sara thrilled at how warm and secure she felt, floating about in the middle of the night in her bare feet and flannel nightgown.
It’s not cold at all,
Sara noticed.
Nearly every house was dark now, and only the town’s sparsely placed street lights were glowing, but on the far side of town, Sara could see one house still lit up. And so, she decided to go there to see who was still awake.
Probably somebody who doesn’t have to get up early in the morning,
Sara thought, getting closer, and stretching her left toe downward, causing a perfect and rapid descent.