Freedom From the Tyranny of Other People's Feelings, Revisited ............4/20/12

“When a person doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity.
A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude.” Elie Wiesel

        How are you?
I'm bumping this up. I originally wrote this October 14th of last year. I updated it this morning.  Let me know what you think. This is worth discussion. It addresses a problem most people

Calmness in the Eye of an Emotional Storm, II ......... 5/19/11

I'm thankful for life giving principles that allow me to stand firm, regardless of the pressures surging around me.

    Good morning everyone,

I came across this article, this morning. There's hope for me, I'm happy to say. I love languages and speak and read in a few of them; I always held there was value in learning them. My favorite is Classical Greek, an extremely precise language. I hope you enjoy the following link:  Click here.   Research is keeping me busy this morning, I like it.  Maybe a reader can tell me what the writer in the above link means by "learning a language as a discreet subject."

       Most of you know the routine in this inn. I ask readers to share their gratitudes. If you'd share three, I'd be  a happy innkeeper. But, if you are new to this place, I'll settle for one. So, that's the deal for today.

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       I've been having the unhappy circumstance of relating with a person who is frantic and under tremendous stress. A lot of my training, as a child and adolescent, conditioned me to want to placate others; 

Acceptance Does Not Mean Acceptance (as we normally consider it) : But, It's the Key to Serenity and Emotional Healing ..................4/5/11

  
     Good morning,

I went to bed early and here I am, this dark, early morning on the Left Coast. I tried entering a site online where I, until recently, wrote regularly.  The place is closed, after existing for more than two years. For more info, read my first post.  While with friends last night, we spoke about acceptance.

        I've learned over the years that acceptance does not mean acceptance, as I once understood this word.  This realization once boggled my mind.  Before, I considered acceptance a form of passivity.  "Oh, I have to accept that so-and-so is rude, critical, will interrupt me whenever I speak, will always get angry if I disagree, I have to accept that." Or, "I behave in such and such inappropriate ways it's because of what I went through as a child.  My actions are coping mechanisms I learned back then. They are a part of who I am."

      Not necessarily so. This is NOT acceptance. I've learned that acceptance does not mean yielding to a degrading (or intimidating) situation, person or behavior. Or is this morning's case----to a disappointing circumstance.  Acceptance means coming to terms with the issue, grieving it, letting it go and then deciding what steps we'll take.  I call this the "Part B" of acceptance.  I have choices.  I'm not a helpless, hopeless victim.

 "Acting like a victim is a choice, not a destiny."
               Hope for Today, p.189