“If we are to live the good life we came for, we must stop allowing the world around us to be the reason for our thought selection and start choosing thoughts exclusively based on how they feel.”
”If you want your life to change or be different for the better, you must change your beliefs, and to change your beliefs you must change your thinking habits to thoughts that feel real, true and good.”
-Brian Withers: The Book of Life
Framed Snowgum. Hasselblad 500CM, Portra 800, Apr 2026.
Ever since I was little, I’ve tried to live a balanced life. People often say to me, you seem to have found a good balance! This kind of comment always makes me happy and I feel flattered. But it hasn’t happened through an accident!
Being ‘balanced’ also means I approach new ideas that claim to be revolutionary, new and of course, correct with some caution, even when they seem to make sense. A balanced approach means trust and caution all in one. The quotes above are from a book I have just finished reading. The basic premise is that we can get everything we want in life simply by making sure we choose thoughts that make us feel good. As simple as that. We don’t need to thrive, to do, to labour endlessly, we just need to make sure we feel good and the universe will deliver our desires on a gold plate. Without any effort.
This idea is in stark contrast to popular belief that states hard work will bring rewards, and also in contrast to the previous book I had just finished reading, The Daily Stoic. This book consisted of a collection of quotes from the ancient greek stoic philosophers, like Epictetus, who cautioned against wishing for our desires to come true. Instead, Epictetus said “Don’t seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will- then your life will flow well.” In other words, don’t give in to your desires, but give up on your desires. Easier said than done! I wonder how Epictetus accomplished this, if at all!
Pencil Pine Silhouette. Hasselblad 500CM, Portra 800, Apr 2026.
But let’s return to the premise of the Book of Life. Think positive thoughts and your life will flow well. There is a ring of truth to this.
I mean why is it that some people get their wish in life and others don’t? Surely we must be in control of our own destiny, at least to some point? If we think bad thoughts all the time, that will make us sick. If we think good thoughts all the time, we are likely to be healthy and live well. That premise I can accept.
But to say we can always choose positive thoughts, regardless of what life has to throw at us… I find that concept a bit far fetched. Sometimes, I can’t help but have a negative mood settle over me. When I think about the inevitable need of environmental vandalism I must undertake in order to simply earn a living (by driving a combustion vehicle for example), or think about the people who are suffering around the world due to the idiotic egotism of old powerful men who haven’t learnt how to control their childish impulses… Surely, reality affects our thoughts, should affect our thoughts!?
The three headed monster. Hasselblad 500CM, Portra 800, Apr 2026.
On the other hand, I accept that we choose our response to situations that arise in life. And I know that if in the past I had chosen to react to certain situations differently, my life would probably look a bit different to how it looks now. I accept that some days I will feel regret, or sorrow or be in a dark mood. Other days I am joyful and grateful for everything I have gotten to experience and to have ended up exactly where I am now.
As I said earlier, to me, life is all about balance. I don’t wish to be happy all the time. How boring and one dimensional would that be? I think it is much better to experience the whole range of human emotions that we are capable of. I firmly belief that the deeper the suffering we have experienced, the deeper our capability for joy becomes. (This is why I love putting myself through a solid ordeal through outdoor adventure from time to time!)
Weathered Pencil Pines. Hasselblad 500CM, Portra 800, Apr 2026.
There is no reason to dwell on the things that make us feel bad. No need to replay scenarios that have hurt us in the past, over and over. That simply makes us re-experience those events. It is possible to get stuck in a loop, to get stuck in a reality we have made up in our own head. It is possible to close ourselves off to the wonderful possibility that the universe would like to offer us, if only we were receptive to it. So let’s keep that in mind too! Each moment is an endless possibility, if only we believe that to be true.
-A.S. 27/52026, Brushy Creek.
