Posted to Facebook Jan. 25th
The following, a poem I wrote not long after my hospital stay with depression, is included in "Living On Purpose: Life Beyond Mediocrity." As I read this today, I know I would write it with different words, however, I am amazed at the clarity it contains, realizing it was written by a teenager who was having problems even getting dressed. Listen to the essence of a young, very confused girl, getting a glimpse of who she really is.
My Intent
Love is the strongest, the leader.
It can make you say, do, or feel anything.
We have all felt it, some people better than others.
Don't ever give up, it will come and when it does there is no limit, no boundaries, no stopping it.
If used right, life will be endless.
It may dwindle for a moment but then it will come back to life better, stronger, and more encouraging than before.
There is always a place in your heart for everyone, only some people fit better than others.
Don't ever let people influence you, your love's opinion is like snowflakes, never the same as the next.
It guides you like a professional showing you all the good points along with the bad.
It prepares you and keeps you better than any human ever could.
So smile and show you feel, and people will respond without knowing what has come over them."
Living On Purpose (LOP) is remembering, believing in, and expressing who we really are. This blog is the sharing of the moment by moment experience of practicing Living On Purpose . . . because we all want to feel good.
Sunday 22 January 2012
180 Degree Perception Change
Posted to FaceBook Jan 23.
I recently read a short story about the Christmas Truce that "spontaneously and mysteriously" took place on the Western Front, December 24th, 1914, between the German and British troops of WWI. They went from killing each other to singing carols, and fraternizing, and sharing their Christmas gifts from home.
What actually happened to create that 180 degree change in perception from, "You are my enemy!" to, "You are someone I can get along with?" Had there been a formal truce where they were instructed to quit fighting? No. Had they come to an agreement regarding what land belonged to whom? No. Had their minds been completely erased of every reason why they were trying to kill each other? No. What had actually changed?
"A Course In Miracles" says that a miracle is simply a change in perception. It means we are capable of 180 degree changes in how we see something. It doesn't mean that we are just going to pretend we are O.K. with something. It doesn't mean that we are just going to tolerate someone. And, it doesn't mean that I carry on with grudges, or resentment or hate. It means I have actually changed my mind/perception about someone/thing and that I truly see it differently now.
If those men were able to change their minds enough to go from killing each other to camaraderie, imagine what else we might be able to do.
I recently read a short story about the Christmas Truce that "spontaneously and mysteriously" took place on the Western Front, December 24th, 1914, between the German and British troops of WWI. They went from killing each other to singing carols, and fraternizing, and sharing their Christmas gifts from home.
What actually happened to create that 180 degree change in perception from, "You are my enemy!" to, "You are someone I can get along with?" Had there been a formal truce where they were instructed to quit fighting? No. Had they come to an agreement regarding what land belonged to whom? No. Had their minds been completely erased of every reason why they were trying to kill each other? No. What had actually changed?
"A Course In Miracles" says that a miracle is simply a change in perception. It means we are capable of 180 degree changes in how we see something. It doesn't mean that we are just going to pretend we are O.K. with something. It doesn't mean that we are just going to tolerate someone. And, it doesn't mean that I carry on with grudges, or resentment or hate. It means I have actually changed my mind/perception about someone/thing and that I truly see it differently now.
If those men were able to change their minds enough to go from killing each other to camaraderie, imagine what else we might be able to do.
LOP Beyond Peace and Quiet
Posted to FaceBook Jan. 22
I have recently added another project to my life that has increased my 'ToDo' list by three fold. As things get busier I can feel how much I have relied on my moments of peace and quiet for remembering who I really am (WIRA).
Before this project I not only experienced peace and quiet, in many moments of my day, from the world around me, but also from my own mind. Having a fast paced project with many details has increased the 'busyness' in the world around me and the number of focuses in my mind, which seems to have led to less peace and quiet, which then seems to have led to fewer moments of LOP. However, I know that my outside world does not create my inside world, I know that the way I perceive things creates my experience of my world, so I must have a perception that is contradictory to what I want, and what I am doing, and WIRA.
Over the years I have learned how to connect with WIRA through quiet and peaceful activities like meditating and journaling and time by myself. I have probably come to believe that the peace and quiet are necessary for me to find and hold my connection with WIRA and to LOP. But is that really true? Does having more great things to focus on need to reduce my experience of LOP? Does it matter where the physical body is during a day full of 'being here and now' moments? Is not my ability to choose to appreciate things around me still fully available to me? Could it just be that since I learned to LOP in peace and quiet, I have continued to believe that my connection with WIRA comes from peace and quiet and it is now time for me to evolve beyond that belief?
Instead of believing that my ability to LOP comes from peaceful and quiet times I could believe:
My work is to listen and capture the inspirations, no matter what is going on around me;
My work is to be fully present and focused on that which is in front of me;
My work is to trust in others, the unfolding, and the energy that takes care of the planets orbiting, the plants growing, and the thriving of our world that has continued for millions of years;
My work is to remember that success is not dependant on the puny amount of physical action I can push into being each day, but on my clarity of WIRA and being able to hear and see my answers when they are presented to me;
My work is to remember WIRA first, and then take care of whatever is next, and not trying to take care of everything first and then find time to LOP;
LOP does not come from control and order, but from remembering and knowing.
I do love my moments of peace and quiet and . . . LOP does not come from them.
I have recently added another project to my life that has increased my 'ToDo' list by three fold. As things get busier I can feel how much I have relied on my moments of peace and quiet for remembering who I really am (WIRA).
Before this project I not only experienced peace and quiet, in many moments of my day, from the world around me, but also from my own mind. Having a fast paced project with many details has increased the 'busyness' in the world around me and the number of focuses in my mind, which seems to have led to less peace and quiet, which then seems to have led to fewer moments of LOP. However, I know that my outside world does not create my inside world, I know that the way I perceive things creates my experience of my world, so I must have a perception that is contradictory to what I want, and what I am doing, and WIRA.
Over the years I have learned how to connect with WIRA through quiet and peaceful activities like meditating and journaling and time by myself. I have probably come to believe that the peace and quiet are necessary for me to find and hold my connection with WIRA and to LOP. But is that really true? Does having more great things to focus on need to reduce my experience of LOP? Does it matter where the physical body is during a day full of 'being here and now' moments? Is not my ability to choose to appreciate things around me still fully available to me? Could it just be that since I learned to LOP in peace and quiet, I have continued to believe that my connection with WIRA comes from peace and quiet and it is now time for me to evolve beyond that belief?
Instead of believing that my ability to LOP comes from peaceful and quiet times I could believe:
My work is to listen and capture the inspirations, no matter what is going on around me;
My work is to be fully present and focused on that which is in front of me;
My work is to trust in others, the unfolding, and the energy that takes care of the planets orbiting, the plants growing, and the thriving of our world that has continued for millions of years;
My work is to remember that success is not dependant on the puny amount of physical action I can push into being each day, but on my clarity of WIRA and being able to hear and see my answers when they are presented to me;
My work is to remember WIRA first, and then take care of whatever is next, and not trying to take care of everything first and then find time to LOP;
LOP does not come from control and order, but from remembering and knowing.
I do love my moments of peace and quiet and . . . LOP does not come from them.
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