Enjoying Yourself

Core Value, Gratitude, Life 0

Acknowledging your gifts and talents fills you with a sense of self-esteem — so you are not consumed by the need for approval to boost your reputation.  It allows you to own your personal power and not give it away to others.  When you have good self-esteem — which you develop by making commitments to yourself that you keep, valuing your personal code of honor, owning your gifts and talents, and letting go of false humility — you do not look for attention or validation from others….

The false modesty of ignoring or downplaying your gifts and talents is a slap in God’s face.  You received a gift, yet will not own it.

— Christel Nani, Sacred Choices, p. 240-241

Triumph of Dexterity over String

Knitting 0

I love knitting because it’s something that can be accomplished no matter how poorly it’s going at any given moment.  It’s a triumph of dexterity over string.  I can’t make my kids turn out the way I want; I have no control over my editor; world peace remains elusive despite my very best efforts; but all of that be damned — I can put a heel in a sock and it will go exactly the way I want it to go.  Eventually, at least.

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Yarn Harlot:  The Secret Life of a Knitter, p. xiii

Healing Your Resentment

Healing, Joy, Life, Peace 0

Whenever you forget to nurture and care for yourself because it feels selfish, your level of resentment will rise….

You must take personal responsibility for your level of self-care — that means not blaming others because you are stuck cleaning the garage while your husband is off playing golf.  Why are you not doing what you want to be doing?…

Remember to look for the subtle ways you forget to honor yourself.  If you come last in your life, your level of resentment will be high.

— Christel Nani, Sacred Choices, p. 234-235

Communication Skills are Overrated

Compassion, Marriage, Relationships 0

Isn’t it funny how during the honeymoon period, understanding each other is seldom a problem.  “Communication skills” are highly overrated.  We don’t want to understand; that’s the problem.  We can’t say to our dog or baby, “I want to give you a little feedback on something you’ve been doing lately,” and yet we get along with them just fine.  I know two couples who because of an accident and a stroke can’t hear or talk but still are able to move past their problems and grow in love.  Work on communicating better, but also work on dwelling in love, the place of true understanding.

— Hugh Prather, Spiritual Notes to Myself, p. 48

Knitting, a Miracle Worker

Knitting, Uncategorized 0

What non-knitters are missing is the personality-enhancing qualities of knitting.  Knitting is a miracle worker.  With knitting, people can suddenly do things they couldn’t do before.  They can wait in line without becoming impatient.  They can sit through a grade-school concert with a smile.  They can handle long meetings and lectures, all without bothering other people or pacing around like lunatics.

— Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Knitting Rules, p. 11

He is Present

God, Trials 0

And yet, paradoxically, during those years of struggle, not believing in him, not seeing him, having no faith at all, I nevertheless felt him there.  He was present in my anger.  Present in my loneliness.  Present in my world’s refusal to be what I wanted it to be, and present in his own denial of anything I wanted to make him into.  Present.  With me.  Patiently waiting for me to turn and see him.  And still I struggled.

— Patty Kirk, Confessions of an Amateur Believer, p. 67

So Different

Forgiveness, Marriage 0

If you’ve got someone who seems opposite to you in almost every respect, you’ve got the right person.  In a sense, your partner is the repository of your rejected strengths.  Forgive your partner and, together, you become whole.

— Hugh Prather, Spiritual Notes to Myself, p. 43