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Where I live, there are several mink farms nearby.  Now, I wouldn\\u2019t say I\\u2019m overly sensitive to foul smells.  And I kind of even like the smell of regular farms. Farm smell brings up nostalgia and child-like joy.  But mink farm smell, that\\u2019s something completely different.  I can\\u2019t explain it other than, just trust me, it\\u2019s an awful rotten smell.  Especially when you\\u2019re exactly downwind of the mink farm.  Luckily, I don\\u2019t actually live downwind from the mink farm, but the gym that I go to is.  One morning we were running and the smell outside literally made me gag several times. As I was running and trying not to breathe (not a good combo) and also wondering how in the world the smell can possibly be as bad as it is and honestly, complaining in my mind, and I didn\\u2019t like how the complaining made me feel, and it certainly didn\\u2019t make the smell go away, so I decided to create a new thought, one that would be more helpful for me to not hate the mink farm so much at that moment. .

The thought that came to me was: This mink farm is how someone is making their living and providing for their family, and probably several employees.

This is someone\\u2019s livelihood.

And while the smell was still rank awful, that thought helped me to not be further bothered.

I shifted my perspective.

At first, I was focused on my own discomfort.

The smell was an obstacle to my comfort.

But when I shifted to thinking about the mink farm as someone\\u2019s business and livelihood, it made it more real and permissible in my mind.

The mink farm, and it\\u2019s smell suddenly had a story and a purpose. True, it\\u2019s purpose is not my purpose, but a purpose nonetheless and one that I could respect for someone else.

Everyone needs a livelihood, and this mink farm is someone\'s livelihood.

This shift in perspective did not lessen the actual smell, but it did ease my discomfort and more specifically raised my tolerance for it because I decided that someone must love this farm.  Someone else is grateful for this farm.

It\\u2019s amazing how seeing something differently changes everything.

This is one thing I find amazing about our brains.  We\\u2019re constantly telling ourselves a story subconsciously.  We often don\\u2019t even recognize that all the chatter in our brain is a story.  But it is.

An easy way to gain perspective and shift from judgment to grace or compassion or empathy, is to tap into your own powerful brain and tell yourself a conscious story.  It can be as simple as - this mink farm is someone\\u2019s livelihood, they\\u2019ve had it in their family for 100 years and they enjoy keeping it up.   Suddenly the stench of the mink farm isn\\u2019t about me, it\\u2019s about someone else and it\\u2019s something that i can be happy for them.

So here\\u2019s your homework for this week, when you find yourself bothered by something, try giving it a helpful story to shift your perspective from YOU centered, to They focused.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Be watchful, and stay curious.