I would like to share an exercise I did when I was living in Orlando and never dreamed that I would one day move to Bogalusa, where I truly love the people of my latest city. The exercise, I believe, proves that we do, in fact, create our own realities.

I invite everyone to look back over your lives and to try to determine what thoughts, positive or negative, brought you to where you are today. Going back can be difficult, so it might be easier to only look at the major changes in your life. Try to track down the germ of thought that started you on your path to the changes and, eventually, to here and now.

I must say that I was stunned to realize that I had, indeed, created my reality. I had no college degree of any sort, but I managed to get hired as a reporter by the Times-Picayune because I set that in motion with my thoughts. I wanted to write for a living. And when I fretted and worried about a potential problem, sure enough, that problem was exactly what I got. I could see it clearly as I looked back. I hope you can, too.

But I have been generally blessed. I’ve had love all of my life, first from my birth family and later from my husband, my child, and now my grandchild. I am blessed because I am a twin, and so naturally learned compassion to the center of my being. I am blessed because love is a natural state for me.

I realize that some of you have hardships that I do not, but please know that imagining and believing you will get the positive outcome will help you get it. Imagine it already happened, and sense how it feels. Feel it in every particle of your body and spirit. I know it feels a lot like love.

Don’t give your energy to imagining every detail of what you don’t want, because that’s what you will get if you do. I’m a worrier. I get it from my mother. But I’m working to overcome that and to only envision the positive, because I’ve learned that I’m in charge of what happens in my life.

I hope I’ve prompted you to do the work of learning that, too.

Marcelle Hanemann is a reporter for The Daily News. You can email her at marcelle.hanemann@bogalusadailynews.com or call her at 985-732-2565, ext. 301.