This is a beautiful story of Maria’s New Hat that freed her from the way she thought of her life in general. She was living a life of boredom. It was not the hat that freed Maria, it was the quality of her thoughts:
‘Maria lived with her mother in a small apartment in New York. She was not too young or too old, not too short or too tall, not particularly beautiful nor ugly. She was just an average woman. She worked as a secretary at a large company and her life was pretty much boring and mundane. No one at work paid any attention to her. Those that did, considered her to be as boring as her life was.
One morning, on her way to work, Maria saw a new hat shop that opened down the street. In a spur of curiosity, she walked in. In the shop was a little girl and her mother, who came to pick the girl a hat, and another customer who was trying on hats. Maria also tried on a few hats, until she found one she liked. She put it on and it looked nice. First to notice was the little girl: ‘Mommy, look how pretty that woman looks with the hat on.’ The mother said: ‘Ma’am, I must say, this hat just looks wonderful on you.’ The second buyer also came to look: ‘Ma’am, you look lovely with that hat.’ Maria went to the mirror. She looked at herself, and for the first time in her adult life, she liked what she saw. Smiling, she went to the counter and bought the hat.
As she walked outside a new world revealed itself to her, she never before noticed the colors of the flowers, or the scent of the fresh air, the sound of the cars and the people sounded like an harmonious melody. She walked as if drifting on a cloud with a song in her heart. When she passed by the coffee shop she walked by every morning, one of the young handsome man called out to her: ‘Hey darling, looking good. Are you new here? Can I buy you a cup of coffee? She smiled shyly and kept walking, floating on her cloud.
When she got to the office building, the doorman opened the door and wished her Good Morning. Never before had he even noticed her. The people in the elevator asked her the floor she needed and pressed the button for her. The people at the office, as if seeing her for the first time, flattered her on how lovely she looked today. The manager asked her out to lunch to talk about how she felt at work. When this magical workday was over she decided to take a cab home instead of the bus. As soon as she put her up two taxis stopped. She took the first one and sat in the back seat. Thinking about the miraculous day she had and how her life changed, all thanks to the new hat.
When she got home, her mom opened the door. The sight of Maria took her breath away. ‘Maria’, she said surprised, ‘How beautiful you look! Your eyes are all lit up like when you were a little girl.’ ‘Yes, mother’ said Maria. ‘It’s all thanks to my new hat, I had the most marvelous day.’ ‘Maria’ said her mother, ‘What hat??’ Maria panicked. She touched her head and saw that the hat that changed her life was not there. She did not remember taking it off in the cab, or at lunch, or at the office. She thought back to the store where she had bought it. How she noticed it for the first time when she put it on, paying for it at the cashier’s and she also remembered painfully now, how she put it on the counter, to get her purse out to pay and how she forgot the hat right there on the counter. Then she walked out to the street, hat-less yet glowing. It was not the hat that changed her, it was her thoughts that brought these wonderful changes in her life and she saw herself as a New Positive Maria who everyone seemed to appreciate.’
Our thoughts can enslave us into a horrible bondage or liberate us towards sweet freedom: to be, do, or have anything we wish for. Change your thoughts and see the difference in your life.
Great post, thank you so much.
Thoughts are real !
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Welcome Ben for your lovely comments and yes thoughts sure are real and a little shift can move mountains.
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Lovely post. And a great message.
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Thanks Karen and yes a thought can do anything.
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Thoughts can enslave us or liberate us! Such a beautiful and profound message you have conveyed through your story Kamal 💜👍
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Thanks dear Radhika and yes absolutely true our thoughts with a slight shift can change everything and how we look at things. Thanks for the lovely words.
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Great story and awesome message….it is so true that our thoughts make and shape us
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Thanks for the lovely comments and yes a little shift in our thoughts and everything changes in a positive way.
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Yeah…great thought process… should explore this more
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Yes absolutely one must surely think on these lines and make our lives better too.
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Yup.😁
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Have a great day friend.
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And you too…!!
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A beautiful reflection of our thoughts !! Marvellous post Kamal😊
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Thanks Tanvir and yes a marvelous story. Our thoughts that need to change and everything changes with it. Have a great day.
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True!! You to have a great day
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Welcome, Tanvir.
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I do so love this story, sweet and poignant. So true that it is the perception of ourselves and others that make all the difference. An open smile and head held high makes all the difference.
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Yes absolutely and agree with your great comments. Just the thought had to change to bring all this positivity in her and not the hat at all.
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Most beautiful and inspiring story👌💐
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Thanks Shayra.
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Welcome 😊
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A great message. It’s all in our head. The way we think. A beautiful story..
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Yes absolutely true and thanks for your lovely words too. All in the mind they say.
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Love this, Amen… Thoughts can enslave us or free us! I want the hat in the photo 😊
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Hahaha Leila so true the hat is so beautiful that I felt it apt to post with the story.
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Absolutely wonderful story! Our thoughts can truly change our outlook towards life. It’s all in the state of mind. Loved the message Kamal!
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Thanks for the beautiful comment and yes so true stories. Just a little thought can change our perception
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very very skilful way to share such an important message, how delightfully creative .. well done Kamal 🙂
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Thanks Kate for your great comments and yes I really feel so nice posting these stories they are such great eye openers
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you have real talent, such a clever analogy to make your point .. you have inspired me to try harder 🙂
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Thanks Kate feeling so happy to hear these kind words. I do my best before posting actually, I get to read these stories and then try to do my best with them. Blessings to all of us from the Lord who knows all.
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it is clearly evident that you put far more effort into it than me Kamal, I smash my poems out in ten to fifteen minutes .. imagine how much better I might do if I thought about it 🙂
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Oh it is completely k and u r doing a fantastic work, Kate, I so love your poems. Thank you once again for everything. Hugs and love to you Kate.
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you are so sweet, hugs right back k
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Welcome Kate
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Wowww..what a beautiful story kamal..kudos to you for keeping it as post
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Thanks Kalyan for these wonderful words and yes isn’t it, I love these stories that tell u how we need to lead our lives.
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Yeah..soo true
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Yes
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A lovely meaningful post!!
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Thanks Indira.
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This story so powerfully illustrates that beauty radiates so much from within!
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Yes absolutely true and look how her one thought changed her perception and she was so happy. Thanks.
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Yes. You are welcome 🙂
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Thanks friend.
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👏👏Kamal! Your imagination and imagery is epic! Very nice and strong messaged
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Thanks so much for your superb words Deshi. This story sure was awesome and an eye opener. One thought was only required
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Superb story, shows the power of positivity. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks Subbashini for your great comments and yes so true the power of being positive.
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This is amazing and very lovely post. Yes thoughts are important in life. Just change thoughts change life same as Maria
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Thanks Tanvir for your great comments and yes so true a thought change and she saw herself differently. Thought is very important
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Change your thoughts to change your life. This is lovely.
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Yes absolutely true and so beautiful story that unfolded. Thanks
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What a beautiful story, much to learn from it. Thank you for sharing Kamal
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Welcome Cornelia
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What a beautiful story, much to learn from it for all of us in the universe. Thank you for sharing Kamal
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Thanks Cornelia for your great comments and yes it is so good to get answers from these apt stories, a change of thoughts and what a difference
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This is a really great tale, Kamal. I feel totally uplifted and inspired just reading it.
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Thanks dear Robbie for your great comments and yes I too felt so nice once I read this wonderful story had to share with all of you’ll. One thought and everything changed.
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lovely story
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Thanks Chandnat.
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Thanks for nominating me for this award.
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I enjoyed this story. Life is the simple things and simple actions. A perfect ending to the wonderful story.
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Thanks John for your lovely comments and yes life is so simple and one thought changed her perception.
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I agree and you are welcome.
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Thanks.
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it’s a beautiful and positive story!! 🙂
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Thanks and yes absolutely true a little shift and see the difference
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I agree.
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Yes.
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Oh how true that we attract what we expect from the people we meet. Tink and I have begun counting smiles on our walks, and it is truly amazing how many people we pass now look up from their cellphones to smile at us and say hello.
Lovely little story to underscore how important positive expectations are – and how they can change our experience of living. Thank you, Kamal.
As a hat person, I can relate to how pretty even a practical sun hat hat can make one feel, however. I am rarely seen without one.
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to transform a world!”
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Thanks Madelyn for sharing such a beautiful thought and yes it is so nice to smile with little Tink and people returning this same it feels so great. Just a change of thoughts and her day completely changed. Lucky for you having to wear pretty hats
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Yes – I am a melanoma SURVIVOR – and have worn hats since my diagnosis. When my dermatologist told me “NO sun” I took that as a wonderful excuse to collect beautiful hats. And yes, I feel lucky indeed to be alive to wear them.
xx,
mgh
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Great Madelyn wow thanks to the lord who is always there with you and taking care of you. God bless you.
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Thank you, Kamal. I am blessed indeed – and I know that you are as well.
xx,
mgh
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Yes absolutely true Madelyn thank you so much.
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Absolutely nice … What we think we become.. Thoughts are the reflection of our personality
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Yes absolutely true and thought is everything and thank you for your great comments Nath
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Wonderful Kamal!
A Hat of Thought indeed!
Shiva
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Yes and what a tremendous change it brought about
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Wow! I’m coming to your page all the time now. What an uplifting story. And so true how our attitude creates what we live and how people see us.
Bless you and the affect you have on the lives of others.
Arlene
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Welcome and thanks for the beautiful comment. Yes a shift in her thoughts made all the difference in her. I am feeling so happy Arlene.
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That’s great. Enjoy your day!
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Thanks same to u too
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