Opportunities

God, Letting Go, Life, Trials, Trust 0

The fact is, we always have the choice to turn from a problem focus to a resolution focus. We get to choose how big we want to make a problem. We don’t have to do things the way we’ve always done them. This is a huge revelation for many of us. We can disengage from any situation. We can say nothing or simply walk away. A great beginning is simply to see problems as opportunities to let God into our lives. Take it from me. The sense of personal empowerment that accompanies letting God handle the problem while we attend to watching for the solution is life changing.

— Karen Casey, Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow, p. 134

One Day at a Time

Growth, Life 0

One day at a time. What a concept. There is nothing we can’t do if we do it in small enough increments. Since we are certain of being alive only one instant at a time, let’s cherish the awareness that right now we can begin our day again with a new idea, a new attitude, and the appropriate accompanying behaviors. Anytime you choose to begin is the right time. Take it slow and small and your life will change.

— Karen Casey, Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow, p. 128

Out of Control

Letting Go, Life, Peace 0

How do we respond to a world that seems out of control? The world seems that way because it is out of control — the sun rises whether we want it to or not, the toaster breaks, someone cuts you off on your way to work. We’ve never had control. We have the illusion of control when things go the way we think they should. And when they don’t, we say we’ve lost control, and we long for some sort of enlightened state beyond all this, where we imagine we’ll have control again. But what we really want is peace.

— Byron Katie, A Thousand Names for Joy, p. 85

Walking With God

God, Guidance, Life, Obedience 0

From the Spirit come both wisdom and revelation. We need them both to walk with God, need them in generous doses to navigate the dangerous waters of this world. If you’re the sort of person who tends to lean toward revelation (just asking God for direct guidance), then you need to balance your approach with wisdom. If you lean toward a wisdom approach to life, you must deliberately and consciously include revelation. Ask God….

Knowing that, we need to admit that risk is always involved when we encourage others to walk with God. People have done a lot of really stupid things in the name of following Jesus. For that reason there are folks in the church who don’t want to encourage this sort of risk, this “walking with God.” Over the centuries they have tried to eliminate the messiness of personal relationship with Jesus by instituting rules, programs, formulas, methods, and procedures. Those things may have eliminated some of the goofy things that happen when people are encouraged to follow God for themselves. But they also eliminated the very intimacy God calls us to.

— John Eldredge, Walking with God, p. 204

Maintaining Positive Energy

Joy, Letting Go, Life, Peace, Relationships 0

Negative energy can have a powerful pull on us, especially if we’re struggling to maintain positive energy and balance. It may seem that others who exude negative energy would like to pull us into the darkness with them. We do not have to go. Without judgment, we can decide it’s okay to walk away, okay to protect ourselves.

We cannot change other people. It does not help others for us to get off balance. We do not lead others into the Light by stepping into the darkness with them.

— Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go, p. 114

The Power of Stories

Life, Story, Writing 0

Our stories have power.  Let this power be at the heart of your writing practice, and let your writings awaken and strengthen you in return.

Let all these stories inspire you to spend your time more richly, and let that richness spill onto your pages.

Let your stories of change and stumblings illuminate the path for those hiking behind you.  Writing lights a bright beam for all to see, and that light leads to more souls sharing their experiences.

Let me give you a big “juicy pen” and some “thirsty paper” to drink up your words and stories.

— Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper, by SARK, p. 119-120

Every Experience for Good

Gratitude, Life, Peace 0

I remember hearing, early in my spiritual recovery, that we should thank God for every experience we have, while we are having it; that we need to look for the good in every one of our experiences.  I was not easily convinced.  I had had too many painful times in my life to believe it was all intentional and all holy.  It took more than a little willingness for me to review my past with an eye toward seeing and then accepting that all of my experiences were holy, even the most painful, and that all were necessary to help create who I had become, and thus had been a blessing.  Letting in the idea that there are no accidents allows us to give up our confusion, our fear, our spiteful anticipation, our preconceived resentments, our resistance, and our near-constant concern over outcomes.  We can choose to believe that every experience is on its own schedule and that showing up for it is our only real job.

If this seems too simple or far-fetched, consider this:  If you find out at the time of death that this way of seeing was all wrong, will it matter?  I think not.  In the meantime, it will have allowed you to be far more peaceful going forward.

— Karen Casey, Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow, p. 111-112

Enchantment Is Self-serve.

Joy, Life 0

To all of you who would like more excitement, pleasure, and satisfaction in your lives, please take note:  Enchantment is self-serve.  Opportunities abound, if you are available.…

As we have seen, it isn’t certain things that satisfy us, it is our capacity to be satisfied.  Are you satisfiable?  Notice that I’m not saying you should settle for less; rather, I’m suggesting that you develop the capacity to Receive more.  The last line of Derek Walcott’s poem “Love After Love” says it beautifully:  “Sit.  Feast on your life.”  What are you presented with that you might fully Receive in this moment, this place, this income, this age, this you, this life?  Whatever it is:  Sit.  Feast.

— Victoria Castle, The Trance of Scarcity, p. 130-132