mystery. I reveal myself here. Regularly. Not now. So, what will I divulge?
Vulnerabilities are teamed with the riches of dynamic living. Intense demands upon my equanimity are coupled with thriving, life-giving moments, overflowing with happiness. The snake skin of uncertainty and anxiety are sloughed off. In its place, an inner peace, clarity and the celebration of life as never previously known. Patience, persistence and poise have paid off. Am I glad.
I know the joy of being present. I delight in what is. No part of my life is touched by the depressant of worry. It does not dull my days, nor rob me of the joy that is mine. I hear more clearly than ever. The mental chatter of fear, anxiety and a judgment-filled mind no longer deafen me when relating with others.
Being present makes me alert to interpretations, judgments or assessments when they creep into my consciousness. I know when that happens, to dig deeper, uncovering the needs and feelings beneath my reactions. I am happy, because I am present. In touch with my feelings makes me wholeheartedly alive! I say what I mean, mean what I say, but not say things meanly. I live within a community of healthy people, who accept me as I am, even when I am not at my best. They cherish the inner me and I them.
Life is a treasure chest full of satisfying relationships and a robust spirit. My existence is rich and vitally important to many. What can be greater than that? Dreams are coming true.
How About You?
How is your life better than it was three months ago? One sign of life is finding ourselves growing, characterologically. Often, I greet others not with "How are you?" but with "How are you growing?"
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2 comments:
Dear Innkeeper,
I am grateful for three things:
1. The importance to mourn or grieve.
2. My body
3. Taking care of ourselves by questioning our beliefs.
The ability to mourn. Life is a natural process, an unfolding, if you will. This is God's show, not ours. There are things that occurred in my past that my mind wants to figure out, a clever mechanism to protect itself from the present moment. Yes things happened in the past. Let's give our body credit for enduring so much. God bless my body for its wherewithal and resilience.
I read a book tonight to my three boys. The main character wanted to help another character that did not want anyone's help. It was mean and didn't want the main character's help. This other character was a tough cookie, a bull on a farm, to be exact, but at the end of the story, there was a tornado. The main character went to the bull's pen. The bull was terrified and needed help. It was scared. The main character was able to break through the gate and rescue the bull. After the tornado left, all of the characters, including the now happy bull, at the end of the story played another fun round of Follow-the Leader on the farm. By the way, what caused the bull to mourn? A tornado. I'd like to dare say, God. My middle son said, "The tornado showed that the bull had a 'soft spot'." I like that.
The moral of the story? We can only show kindness to others. That's it. "Is there something I could do for you? I would really like to help you. Please, let me know what you need? I'm here." That's it. And if they yell or complain, we recognize this is who they are right now. We cannot change what they are believing. They believe what they believe. We listen quietly to the other person and very deeply in our hearts recognize a time when we felt or believed the same. Because 99.9999% guaranteed we have, regardless to which degree, we have. If the other person goes on too long, we stand up for our space and respect our limits, and excuse ourselves. From the bull's perspective, we hold onto our false beliefs causing us pain, and not seeing clearly God's vision or what life has in store. God intervenes and reminds us that it is ok to be ourselves. That maybe we have held on to our false beliefs for too long.
Coincidentally or maybe not, I had read today's passage for July 21st from Today's Reminder in Courage to Change before reading the story to my boys. The passage from Courage to Change reads:
I am top priority. By keeping the focus on myself, I let go of other people's problems and can better cope with my own. What can I do for myself today?
"I will remind myself...that I am powerless over anyone else, that I can live no life, but my own. Changing myself for the better is the only way I can find peace and serenity" (pg.203).
How do we change? Perhaps depersonalizing or dis-identifying with our thoughts and feelings, recognizing as Byron Katie says that there are no new thoughts only recycled ones. She also said that if we were able to put all our thoughts in a box, we wouldn't be able to see them. So then what are we holding onto? What are we protecting? Perhaps by grieving our personal losses, which are on the surface, we can see deeply that we really do care about ourselves, that we can see ourselves in God's image, an expression of its love. That in the end I think it's more about how grace does things for us, not to us, instead of separating ourselves from others because of a false idea in our minds of who we "think" we are.
Thank you, Pablo.
Superman
Really interesting stuff, great work.
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