“Change the Channel”

“I was hurt, angry, and I felt like a victim because I couldn’t take action. I had to kiss what I thought was mine- goodbye. I had to walk away, I was completely discouraged, blaming myself, filled with disappointment, unable to put closure to it. Everyone around me sympathized and told me I had a right to feel I had been wronged. My friends fumed, and that wasn’t making it any better.

My mother, however, knew when it was time to move on. Over dinner one night, as I was replaying my sad story for a hundredth time – should have, could have, if only I had- she decided to help me break the pattern, “Darling,” she said, “Change the Channel.” That was her famous expression, used whenever someone seemed anxious, fearful, agitated, or blue for too long.

“What should I change it to?” I asked.

“Anything,” she said. “The Gratitude Channel, Life Styles of the Rich and Famous, try the Inspiration Channel! You’ve been switching between the Disappointment Channel and the Blame Yourself Channel for too long.”



We don’t have to be at the mercy of our habitual thinking: we are the ones holding the clicker. So decide to change your channel! You can move on, start all over again with a newfound enthusiasm!

- Unbinding the Heart, by Agapi Stassinopoulos

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."  - Lewis B. Smedes