God gives us dreams a size too big so that we can grow in them. -- Author Unknown
What are your dreams? When we were young we were full of dreams. We were going to change the world. I know when I was a pre-teen I was going to stop all the pollution by shutting down the factories. Then slowly our parents and teachers and other important people in our lives convinced us those dreams were unrealistic and we forgot about them because we were focusing on what seemed practical.
But deep inside us we still have our dreams. We still want to make a big difference in the world somehow. We want to be rich and famous, but most of all when it comes down to it we want to significantly improve at least certain people's lives. We want to help, to be useful to people. We want to be able to put our talents to good use making our community, and our world, a better place to live in. Unfortunately many of us need to first of all find out what our talents are before we can figure out how to use them in the way that will benefit the most people the best way.
When we bring our dreams out into the open and acknowledge them, they typically seem unrealistic, too much for one person to manage. This is because we are not yet able to acheive them. But we can always learn and grow into the person who can acheive them. It is the truth that only challenges and obstacles cause us to grow and improve. If our dreams were easy to acheive we would become lazy and stagnant. We are meant to grow into our dreams. We are meant to be continually improving, to become good enough people to actually make our dreams come true. We are meant to overcome our challenges and succeed in fulfillng our dreams. That struggling and then the joy of succeeding is the purpose of our lives
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Pain
And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.
Much of your pa...in is self-chosen. --Kahlil Gibran
It is so easy to miss the daily miracles of your life, as you hurry to complete the goals you set for yourself, or those that someone else set for you. We seldom stop and smell the roses in our rush to get to our appointments. We rush to deal with what seems most urgent, forgetting about what is most important. Even watching TV in the evening often seems more important than listening to your family, or doing anything that requires thought (My opinion is that watching TV is the most significant and most prevalent time-waster there is for most people).
We spend most of our time wishing that we were more happy. Perhaps if the appointment goes well, or when I get my vacation, or when I find a new lover. We can't stand being sad or frustrated or disappointed, and we avoid it like the plague. We don't appreciate that without the bad times, we would never appreciate the good ones. Nor do we appreciate that because we are human, there will always be both good times and bad times, just as surely as winter is always followed by spring and fall is always followed by winter. We miss the lessons that the bad times are intended to teach us. All we think about is how to avoid them.
Much of our pain is self-chosen. For one thing, it is we who choose to see it as pain, instead of a lesson which is intended to benefit us and an opportunity to learn and grow into a better person. For another thing, we choose to see it as something that can and should be eradicated, instead of as a necessary part of our lives and one that makes us appreciate the good times so much more. Finally, we are so focused on the pain we have labeled as such and want to get rid of, that we fail to notice how wonderful life really is, and how everything that happens to us is actually good for us. If we see "bad" events as useful and necessary lessons for us and focus on all the wonderful things there still are in our lives, we will feel a lot less pain and a lot more happiness.
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.
Much of your pa...in is self-chosen. --Kahlil Gibran
It is so easy to miss the daily miracles of your life, as you hurry to complete the goals you set for yourself, or those that someone else set for you. We seldom stop and smell the roses in our rush to get to our appointments. We rush to deal with what seems most urgent, forgetting about what is most important. Even watching TV in the evening often seems more important than listening to your family, or doing anything that requires thought (My opinion is that watching TV is the most significant and most prevalent time-waster there is for most people).
We spend most of our time wishing that we were more happy. Perhaps if the appointment goes well, or when I get my vacation, or when I find a new lover. We can't stand being sad or frustrated or disappointed, and we avoid it like the plague. We don't appreciate that without the bad times, we would never appreciate the good ones. Nor do we appreciate that because we are human, there will always be both good times and bad times, just as surely as winter is always followed by spring and fall is always followed by winter. We miss the lessons that the bad times are intended to teach us. All we think about is how to avoid them.
Much of our pain is self-chosen. For one thing, it is we who choose to see it as pain, instead of a lesson which is intended to benefit us and an opportunity to learn and grow into a better person. For another thing, we choose to see it as something that can and should be eradicated, instead of as a necessary part of our lives and one that makes us appreciate the good times so much more. Finally, we are so focused on the pain we have labeled as such and want to get rid of, that we fail to notice how wonderful life really is, and how everything that happens to us is actually good for us. If we see "bad" events as useful and necessary lessons for us and focus on all the wonderful things there still are in our lives, we will feel a lot less pain and a lot more happiness.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Happy
"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life." — John Lennon
What really is the meaning of life? When you were asked as a child what you wanted to be when you grew up. what did you say? Perhaps a firefighter, or an Olympic champion, or a pirate, or a superhero. Probably not the same thing you would say if you were asked now, and probably nothing like what you actually are today. At some point, we learn that our childhood ambitions are not realistic and we settle for some career that we think we can manage.
I could never understand why people ask me where I wanted to be in five years, or have a ready answer. Never mind planning twenty years or so ahead. It only takes a few minutes to radically change your life situation, and life is so unpredictable. You never know what opportunities are going to present themselves for you, or what obstacles are going to appear to seriously restrict your options. You could die tomorrow. So why is it so important who you think you will be when you grow up?
It would seem more important to consider what you want to be right now, that could continue into the future no matter what life threw at you. Whatever we want in life, we want it for one reason only. Because it will make us happy to whatever degree. Happy is what we really all want to be when we grow up, whether we are happy being a superhero or an accountant. John Lennon understood life where his teacher did not.
His mother was right when she said that happiness was the key to be life. Go out there and be happy. That's what life is all about.
What really is the meaning of life? When you were asked as a child what you wanted to be when you grew up. what did you say? Perhaps a firefighter, or an Olympic champion, or a pirate, or a superhero. Probably not the same thing you would say if you were asked now, and probably nothing like what you actually are today. At some point, we learn that our childhood ambitions are not realistic and we settle for some career that we think we can manage.
I could never understand why people ask me where I wanted to be in five years, or have a ready answer. Never mind planning twenty years or so ahead. It only takes a few minutes to radically change your life situation, and life is so unpredictable. You never know what opportunities are going to present themselves for you, or what obstacles are going to appear to seriously restrict your options. You could die tomorrow. So why is it so important who you think you will be when you grow up?
It would seem more important to consider what you want to be right now, that could continue into the future no matter what life threw at you. Whatever we want in life, we want it for one reason only. Because it will make us happy to whatever degree. Happy is what we really all want to be when we grow up, whether we are happy being a superhero or an accountant. John Lennon understood life where his teacher did not.
His mother was right when she said that happiness was the key to be life. Go out there and be happy. That's what life is all about.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Planned
"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." --Joseph Campbell
Many of us cling for dear life to the life we've planned, the life we've always known. We plan our lives according to what we've known already, perhaps what our parents lived or what our friends or the people around us are living. It is what we are familiar and comfortable with. Even if our parents, friends, or loved ones are not doing particularly well with their lives, we still assume it must be the right one for us. We identify with our loved ones and even our neighbors and think we are supposed to be like them.
But we are not like them. We are unique individuals with our own unique destiny. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, and even desires, and must find our own unique direction in life. If we continue to do the same things as the people around us, we will never rise above them, or live the life that we were meant to. We will not be able to utilize our strengths most effectively or be truly happy in what we do. We will only acheive what other people want, not what we truly desire.
In order to be truly successful, we must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. We are more than just the some of our past experience. We are whole and perfect beings whose pathway to learning and growing was charted before we were born; and now we need to be looking for clues as to how to proceed along that path. Always look towards the future, towards emerging opportunities to live the life you were meant to live. And never compare yourself with other people and the lives they are living. There is a unique pathway to success waiting for you if you will just keep an eye out for it.
Many of us cling for dear life to the life we've planned, the life we've always known. We plan our lives according to what we've known already, perhaps what our parents lived or what our friends or the people around us are living. It is what we are familiar and comfortable with. Even if our parents, friends, or loved ones are not doing particularly well with their lives, we still assume it must be the right one for us. We identify with our loved ones and even our neighbors and think we are supposed to be like them.
But we are not like them. We are unique individuals with our own unique destiny. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, and even desires, and must find our own unique direction in life. If we continue to do the same things as the people around us, we will never rise above them, or live the life that we were meant to. We will not be able to utilize our strengths most effectively or be truly happy in what we do. We will only acheive what other people want, not what we truly desire.
In order to be truly successful, we must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. We are more than just the some of our past experience. We are whole and perfect beings whose pathway to learning and growing was charted before we were born; and now we need to be looking for clues as to how to proceed along that path. Always look towards the future, towards emerging opportunities to live the life you were meant to live. And never compare yourself with other people and the lives they are living. There is a unique pathway to success waiting for you if you will just keep an eye out for it.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Complete
"It is easier to live through someone else than to become complete yourself." - Betty Friedan
it is amazing how much time we spend searching for a person to make us whole. If we are a quiet person we are attracted to someone who is a social butterfly. If we are a couch potato we are attracted to someone athletic. Typically when we fall in love with someone we are attracted by some trait they have that we don't have but highly value. We think that if we hang around someone with that trait, it will somehow rub off on us. It will fill the hole inside and make us complete. Yet apparently when people divorce, it is very often the trait that attracted the person in the first place that has been turned around into a negative and caused them to want to leave.
Magazines that tell us every little detail about the lives of celebrities are huge sellers. It is as though our own lives are so dull that we would rather read about Brad and Angelina and how they raise their kids, among other things. We want to hear about their lives because their lives seem so much more interesting than ours do. We want to live like them. We want to live through them. So we don't spend enough time thinking about our own lives and how to improve them.
It is easier to live through someone else than to become complete yourself. Just as it is easier to blame someone else than to own up to your own mistakes. We resist taking responsibility for the quality of our lives. We have been taught that outside people and circumstances are what controls us. We have been taught to look outside ourselves for both problems and their solutions. We have been taught to do what we are told. But that is not how we become complete. Becoming complete requires a focus on ourselves and what we can do with our own lives to learn and grow and enjoy our world. It is a process; there are no quick fixes.
it is amazing how much time we spend searching for a person to make us whole. If we are a quiet person we are attracted to someone who is a social butterfly. If we are a couch potato we are attracted to someone athletic. Typically when we fall in love with someone we are attracted by some trait they have that we don't have but highly value. We think that if we hang around someone with that trait, it will somehow rub off on us. It will fill the hole inside and make us complete. Yet apparently when people divorce, it is very often the trait that attracted the person in the first place that has been turned around into a negative and caused them to want to leave.
Magazines that tell us every little detail about the lives of celebrities are huge sellers. It is as though our own lives are so dull that we would rather read about Brad and Angelina and how they raise their kids, among other things. We want to hear about their lives because their lives seem so much more interesting than ours do. We want to live like them. We want to live through them. So we don't spend enough time thinking about our own lives and how to improve them.
It is easier to live through someone else than to become complete yourself. Just as it is easier to blame someone else than to own up to your own mistakes. We resist taking responsibility for the quality of our lives. We have been taught that outside people and circumstances are what controls us. We have been taught to look outside ourselves for both problems and their solutions. We have been taught to do what we are told. But that is not how we become complete. Becoming complete requires a focus on ourselves and what we can do with our own lives to learn and grow and enjoy our world. It is a process; there are no quick fixes.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Success
Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become." - Jim Rohn
We think that success is a prize that we get by working hard and doing all the right things. We strive for success. We do what we are told to do by society in the hopes that one day we will be rewarded. We do our duty. We greatly admire people who work hard and finally make it in the world. But so many of us work hard all our lives and then retire poor. And so many of us are examplary citizens but retire poor. Clearly it is neither hard work or doing the "right thing" that makes one successful.
The more we chase after success, the more it eludes us. When we are focused on what we can get, all the material things that show us we have succeeded, we forget about who we are and whether we are worthy of what we want. We forget about the growing that we have to do in order to enjoy and benefit from the success we want. It is useless to earn lots of money if you don't know how to utilize it in a manner that benefits not only you but the people around you as well.
Success is to be attracted by the person you become. When you cast off the "dirt" of all your limiting beleifs, fearfullness, and bad habits, then you shine. Then you attract the success you want. Success doesn't like all that "dirt", that negative energy, that surrounds most of us, even those who are hardworking and do "what's right" by society's definition. Success is attracted to those who are capable of dealing with it properly, benefiting themselves, the people around them and the planet. Grow into your success by getting rid of those fears and limiting beleiefs and learning to be the best person you can be.
We think that success is a prize that we get by working hard and doing all the right things. We strive for success. We do what we are told to do by society in the hopes that one day we will be rewarded. We do our duty. We greatly admire people who work hard and finally make it in the world. But so many of us work hard all our lives and then retire poor. And so many of us are examplary citizens but retire poor. Clearly it is neither hard work or doing the "right thing" that makes one successful.
The more we chase after success, the more it eludes us. When we are focused on what we can get, all the material things that show us we have succeeded, we forget about who we are and whether we are worthy of what we want. We forget about the growing that we have to do in order to enjoy and benefit from the success we want. It is useless to earn lots of money if you don't know how to utilize it in a manner that benefits not only you but the people around you as well.
Success is to be attracted by the person you become. When you cast off the "dirt" of all your limiting beleifs, fearfullness, and bad habits, then you shine. Then you attract the success you want. Success doesn't like all that "dirt", that negative energy, that surrounds most of us, even those who are hardworking and do "what's right" by society's definition. Success is attracted to those who are capable of dealing with it properly, benefiting themselves, the people around them and the planet. Grow into your success by getting rid of those fears and limiting beleiefs and learning to be the best person you can be.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Begin
Begin from anywhere but begin. The door is somewhere and you may stumble upon it. -- Osho
So often we are afraid to begin a project because we feel we are missing the information necessary for successfully completing it. What if something goes wrong? How will we handle it? The trouble is it would take us a lifetime to think of everything that could possibly go wrong, let along how we will handle all those things. And most, maybe all, of these things will never happen anyway. If something does happen, it will probably be something we never thought about. So many times we never get started on a project because we think we need more information about it. And then the window of opportunity closes.
I think the reason we operate this way is that we really don't trust ourselves. We think we are inadequate to the task. We don't see ourselves as adequate problem solvers; as people who can solve any problem as it comes up. We don't trust our intuition, and many of us simply aren't even aware of it. But the truth is that if we can learn to listen to and trust our intuition, we have all the resources of the Universe available to us. We are much more capable of solving problems than we realize, when we utilize our intuition, and deal with things as they come along.
Begin from anywhere but begin. The door is somewhere and you may stumble upon it. The most important thing is to just get started. Beleive in yourself. It doesn't matter where you are starting from or how many problems you anticipate having along the way. Learn to listen to your intuition (and tell the difference between it and what your ego is telling you to do). Not only will it help you solve all those problems, but it will show you the best way to get to that door to what you want.
Don't wait till you can walk confidently directly to the door because that will probably never happen. If you allow yourself to stumble around and make mistakes, which you then learn from, you will discover that you'll find that door faster than you thought possible. Just begin, and begin now. Tune into and listen to your intuition and learn from your mistakes. That is the route to success.
So often we are afraid to begin a project because we feel we are missing the information necessary for successfully completing it. What if something goes wrong? How will we handle it? The trouble is it would take us a lifetime to think of everything that could possibly go wrong, let along how we will handle all those things. And most, maybe all, of these things will never happen anyway. If something does happen, it will probably be something we never thought about. So many times we never get started on a project because we think we need more information about it. And then the window of opportunity closes.
I think the reason we operate this way is that we really don't trust ourselves. We think we are inadequate to the task. We don't see ourselves as adequate problem solvers; as people who can solve any problem as it comes up. We don't trust our intuition, and many of us simply aren't even aware of it. But the truth is that if we can learn to listen to and trust our intuition, we have all the resources of the Universe available to us. We are much more capable of solving problems than we realize, when we utilize our intuition, and deal with things as they come along.
Begin from anywhere but begin. The door is somewhere and you may stumble upon it. The most important thing is to just get started. Beleive in yourself. It doesn't matter where you are starting from or how many problems you anticipate having along the way. Learn to listen to your intuition (and tell the difference between it and what your ego is telling you to do). Not only will it help you solve all those problems, but it will show you the best way to get to that door to what you want.
Don't wait till you can walk confidently directly to the door because that will probably never happen. If you allow yourself to stumble around and make mistakes, which you then learn from, you will discover that you'll find that door faster than you thought possible. Just begin, and begin now. Tune into and listen to your intuition and learn from your mistakes. That is the route to success.
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