:Elizabeth Gilbert
How true it is that we literally are what we think. As I travel on the emotional roller coaster that my life has become, it is comforting to know that I CAN control my emotions, and make choices which determine the outcome of my everyday life. It all starts on that which I choose to focus. That which receives energy...GROWS! I find it to be so difficult at times, to just let go of hurt and pain, and just allow myself to be ok. We tend to stick to that which we know and find familiar... Even if its misery, sorry, and chasing the circles of life.... Why do we do this? Perhaps because we become slaves to our emotions, which are governed by our thoughts, and we never get ahold of our thoughts as we should. I know I should adopt thoughts, and then habits, that allow me to live and feel happy. Lately, there is much that I question in myself. I spend a lot of time alone reading, meditating, and praying. I'm often criticized for it...being alone so much. Being still, listening,and learning is about "self-mastery (to me) and the dedicated effort to haul your attention away from your endless brooding over the past and your non-stop worrying about the future so that you can seek, instead, a place of eternal presence from which you may regard yourself and your surroundings with poise. Only from that point of even-mindedness"(Gilbert)... sound decisions are able to be made.
I have been reading a ton lately, and to those that know me... they know that I love to read and explore. I could be full of "it"...but I feel like I'm learning, and it's fun to share a few things...
Don't listen to the critics. You're on the right road. You can never, ever read, meditate, or pray too much. And sometimes we just need to be alone.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quotes by Gilbert. I especially like the last one. :)
Keep reading. I'm seriously addicted to reading so I'll back you up to anyone who says you're spending too much time with the books and not enough with people. ;) Books are the best friends a person can have and adventures waiting to happen.
I just found this this morning I immediately thought of you.
The Silver Lining
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell
An old proverb reminds us to look for the silver lining in every cloud. But are the cloudy periods of our lives really lined with silver? Can something good and hopeful really be found in a setback or disappointment? Sometimes it’s difficult to find those silver linings. It may not be until later, even many years later, that we see the good that came from a hardship or trial.
Who has not had a dream dashed or felt rejected or disheartened at times? “What happens to the dreamers, all those people whose lives haven’t turned out as they hoped and planned?” asked Rabbi Harold S. Kushner. “The question is not, Can I get through life without some failures and rejections? because you can’t, and the more you aspire to in your life, the more you yearn for, the more scars you will accumulate along the way. The real question is, How will you respond to those disappointments? Will you respond with bitterness, envy, and self-doubt, or with resilience and wisdom?”(Overcoming Life’s Disappointments (2006), 50.)
For example, a college student felt distressed when he wasn’t admitted to the graduate school he wanted, but in retrospect, he feels that he found more satisfaction in his second choice. Similarly, a young girl lost a school election but developed inner strength as she learned to pick herself up and try again. A middle-aged man laid off from his job enjoyed spending more time with his family while working to retool and shift careers. All these, in time, found the silver linings.
Looking for a silver lining means choosing how we will respond to the dark clouds that come into our lives. We can hold on to hope and faith; we can decide to move forward; we can change for the better as we look for silver linings.