FREEDOM FROM ATTACHMENT

"No one can get inner peace by pouncing on it."

~ Harry Emerson Fosdick ~

What destroys my inner peace is my needing things to be a certain way in order for me to be happy, because then, if they are not that way (which they rarely are) I become righteous and accusatory and demanding and distressed.

I do not insist on the things I cannot control. 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME IN?

"The feeling is often the deeper truth, the opinion the more superficial one."

~ Augustus William Hare ~

Being at war with ourselves is exhausting, and that's what happens when we resist what we feel. It's tempting to put a gate up- I'll allow this feeling, but not that one, and yet, that's the one that has shown up.
     We have to be gracious. We have to be welcoming. It may not be convenient, and it may not have been in our plan, but rudeness and avoidance doesn't change the fact that someone's at the door.

I welcome my feelings like friends at the door. 

PERMISSION

"Life will have vastly barren places until I cover my own desert with green."

~ Muriel Strode ~

Let's give ourselves permission to be vulnerable, to be human, to like what we like and to feel what we feel. Let's stop with the punishing, fearful thoughts and the idea that we are not enough. Let's step out of shame and despondency and step into the light. Let's choose ourselves exactly as we are.

I am enough. 

THE EVOLUTION OF EVERYDAY HAPPENINGS

"Trust your instinct."

~ Billy Wilder ~

We often anticipate happenings in life with a sense of excitement or dread, and rarely with a sense of ease. Trusting the unknown is a tricky business. We attempt to control the future by thinking about it. Allowing the process of meetings and conversations and life experiences to evolve organically out of the present moment takes practice. It's our standard MO to want to figure everything out in advance.

I trust myself and I trust life. 

DAILY ATTENTION

"A new broom sweeps clean, but the old broom knows the corners."

~ Irish Saying ~

Staying on top of our mail and paperwork is so much easier than letting it build up and having to face it as a daunting mass. And that's true with other things as well: our weight, our level of fitness, the state of our relationships, and the condition of our homes to name a few.
     Daily attention and care given to the priorities in our lives makes our lives run smoothly, and gives our minds a chance for peace.

I take care of what needs to be taken care of, and don't let things pile up.

OUR TRAIL

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."

~ William James ~

Chances are, we contribute more to the world than we realize, 

be it good, 

or otherwise. 

Our actions affect others, 

our opinions make an impact, 

and wherever we go, 

we leave some kind of trail.

I share my love and goodness with the world. 

FEELING FEAR

"To fear is one thing.

To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another."

~ Katherine Paterson ~

For many years now, I have made an effort to live free from fear, 

as if that were possible. 

Now I realize that fear is part of being human. 

I can't escape it.

The choice is to resist

or accept it.

To run away

or to face it.

To fight

or to dance.

I have compassion for the fear that I feel.