Relax

Letting Go, Life 0

As soon as we try to control anything, we split our mind and lose our sense of inner comfort.  We can change what we bring to the people and circumstances surrounding us, but we can’t dominate them.

Perhaps the only approach that comes remotely close to a rule of life is that when you are relaxed and flexible, you are happy; when you are rigid and controlling, you are unhappy.  Therefore, the key is actually to let go of our urge to get people to behave and events to go our way.

No matter how experienced the psychologist, how learned the theologian, how wise the philosopher, or how holy the saint, none of them can control a two-year-old.

— Hugh Prather, The Little Book of Letting Go, p. 204

Get on With Your Life

God, Life, Trust 0

Charlyne and I want you to “get on with your life.”  You do that by loving Jesus more each day, praying more, growing in Him, and trusting God for your every need.  We want you to be confident that God will bring about what He has promised.

— Bob Steinkamp, The Prodigal’s Pen, p. 251-252

Improve Their Weekend

Books, Relationships, Writing 0

Whether you are looking for the next step in your pursuit of success or are just trying to be a better, more successful, wife, mother, or friend — it’s important to remember the people you come into contact with.  It’s important to keep those relationships, and be a friend yourself.  And that’s the way I see my readers.  I may not change their lives with the books I write, but I hope I improve their weekend.

— Debbie Macomber, Knit Together, p. 101

Resentment vs. Compassion

Compassion, Core Value, Relationships 0

Most human beings subjected to the amplification, magnification, and oversimplification of resentment or anger get resentful, contentious, or sulky in return, just like you do.  Resentment and anger also cause you to focus only on your own perspective, to the exclusion of everyone else’s….

On the other hand, compassion not only keeps you from avoiding and attacking, it also motivates behavior to improve, appreciate, connect, or protect, all of which are likely to make things better….  Compassion is power.

— Steven Stosny, You Don’t Have to Take It Anymore, p. 167-169

The Purpose of Emotional Pain

Compassion, Core Value, Healing 0

Emotional pain moves you to do something that will make you feel more alive, not numb.  The primary purpose of emotional pain is to make us take action to increase the value of our lives.  The purpose of guilt, shame, and anxiety is to get you to be more loving and protective.  They hurt us until we act with love and compassion.

— Steven Stosny, You Don’t Have to Take It Anymore, p. 163

Compassion

Compassion, Love 0

When we are compassionate, we become more realistic in our expectations, less demanding, and more flexible.  We are less likely to inflict wounds, hurt feelings, and indulge in recriminations….  When we make the compassionate choice, we enhance the dignity of each individual, which is the very essence of loving them.

— Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love, p. 176