GETTING ALONG

"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do."

~Benjamin Spock~

 

It's not possible to love everyone in the same way. We can be tolerant and compassionate, but we can't make ourselves like people who just rub us the wrong way. There's likely a reason for it, even if we can't quite put our finger on it. And I'm not at all sure that we are supposed to know why. Maybe the lesson is as simple as accepting that it simply is what it is.

     If my guard goes up every time I encounter certain individuals, I'm just going to trust that I have those feelings for some greater purpose, and that all is exactly as it should be.

I'm not supposed to get along with everyone. Some people I instantaneously relate to, and some I do not, and in both cases, it's ok.

THE WAY OTHERS BEHAVE

"Trust is letting go of needing to know all the details..."

~Author Unknown~

 

When people don't behave the way I think they should, it's easy- easier than I'd like to admit- for me to cop a resentment. I get righteous inside and take their behavior as a personal affront. How dare they behave in such a way?

     But who am I? And what do I know about anyone else or what motivates them or why they do what they do? Presumably they have their reasons. And to give myself some credit, much of the time, I am pretty quick to recognize my resentment and let it go.
     But when I have gone out of my way and made a special effort to accommodate someone and then  they don't follow through on their end to my satisfaction, I feel piqued, which serves no one and least of all me.

     I have to remember why I do things in the first place, and acknowledge that whatever I do, it is ever and always my choice.

 

I allow others to be who they are and let go of my expectations.

FEELING HAPPY

"Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open."

~John Barrymore~

 

Sometimes I just feel happy, and I'm grateful for that. I am happy for my life and the glory of nature and all of the beautiful people that I know and love. I'm happy for my bubbling creativity and my intellectual curiosity and my willingness to explore.

     Happiness comes and goes for me as it does for all of us, but I sure do like it when it's here.

 

I enjoy the happy feeling whenever it comes around.

INTERRUPTION

"If I had it to do again, I'd ask more questions and interrupt fewer answers."

~Robert Brault~

 

In our super fast paced world we have become adept at finishing other people's sentences for them, and not really listening, and thinking that we know all kinds of things that we can't possibly know.

     Let's stop interrupting and second guessing. Let's get quiet enough internally to be able to really listen to what is actually being said.

 

I give my conversational partner the courtesy of my full attention. I do not break in with my own thoughts and interrupt their flow.

GENTLENESS

"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace... and gentleness..."

~Galations 5:22~

Some people's energy is glaring like bright lights in our rearview mirror as we travel down the road. Much as we might like to ignore them, our whole environment is blasted  by their volume and intensity.
     Let's embrace the quality of gentleness. Let's be soft and subtle and soothing. We can still make an impact, but quietly and sincerely. There's enough brash and blaring energy in the world already without our adding to it.

I needn't blast myself into the world like bright headlights. I prefer to glow and illuminate with more subtlety, like a candle, or a crackling fire.

THE LIMITS OF MONEY

"Money will buy you a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail."

~Henry Wheeler Shaw~

We equate money with power, but maybe it's not as powerful as we think. We try to build a financial fortress around ourselves to guarantee our security, but our only real security is not in things, but in us!

     Let's invest in ourselves with appreciation and love and enthusiasm. Let's claim the power that is within us- the power to change and the power to evolve. And let's stop waiting for money to bring us happiness, because, ultimately, it cannot.

 

I stop turning to material things for a sense of worth. I carry my riches within me.

SPEAKING UP

"Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you."

~Matthew 7:7~

 

I'm not sure why it's so hard to ask for what we need, but it is. We are somehow programmed to be utterly self-sufficient and low-maintenance, to take care of ourselves "on the sly." Let's change this. Let's step into the light and speak up without apology. Let's respect ourselves and those who love us enough to ask directly for what we need.

 

I am confident and courageous. I don't have to shrink myself. It's ok to ask for what I need.