Today, the best way to help others is to acknowledge and feel Love with them, closer than their breath, as close as their thoughts, giving them affection, wisdom, and guidance. This can be more powerful and effective than advice, opinions, or any human actions you may take.
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Today, you don't have to work so hard to be cheerful and good, to fill every moment with meaningful activity, to strive for some imaginary standard of perfection. Instead, feel Love caring for you, those you love, and all of creation. Spend less time in busy activity and more resting in the awareness of Love's presence.
Roman Krznaric, quoted by Amy Maclin in her essay Educating Amy:
"We do a course in mindfulness or we take a dance class, and we feel full of inspiration--but the feeling fades. The reality is that we don't 'find' meaning or direction, but grow into them, through the rough and tumble of life. There's a lovely Leonardo d Vinci line--he declared that experience was his mistress. That's how we learn, through experiment and change." In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown writes,
"Practicing self-love means learning how to trust ourselves, to treat ourselves with respect, and to be kind and affectionate toward ourselves." In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown writes:
"One of the greatest (and least discussed) barriers to compassionate practice is the fear of setting boundaries and holding people accountable. . . . The heart of compassion is really acceptance. The better we are at accepting ourselves and others, the more compassionate we become. Well, it's difficult to accept people when they are hurting us or taking advantage of us or walking all over us. This research has taught me that if we really want to practice compassion, we have to start by setting boundaries and holding people accountable for their behavior." In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown writes:
"Wholehearted living is about engaging our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough. It's going to bed at night thinking, Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn't change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging." If you have a pattern of withdrawing and isolating when you feel upset or hurt, practice reaching out. Wayne Muller writes, "The habit of our emotional seclusion only serves to bring additional violence to ourselves, denying ourselves the gift of sharing the sorrows and joys of being human." Practice speaking your authentic experience to someone you trust. Let go of false beliefs that you must always be independent, that you must never appear weak or flawed, that in your vulnerability, you will be wounded again. Accept the gifts others want to give you.
Caring people often feel responsible for other people's feelings and actions. Today, to the best of your ability, do not carry responsibilities that belong to another--do not do another's work, do not accept blame when it is not yours, do not feel guilt for another's actions. Do not feel a burden that you do not know how to fix another person's problems, but instead rest in Love's great and trustworthy arms that hold you both.
One of the ways that Spirit manifests itself in the world is through structure. Love creates and maintains structure: the structure of our day, of our groups, of our classrooms, of our homes, our thoughts. Love's structures provides safety, order, limits, form, dignity, and clarity. Love's structures, though, are not rigid and limiting, but include creativity, humor, inclusiveness, flexibility, possibility, and a sense of play. Today, feel Love establishing and sustaining the structures in your life.
1. Remember it's not all about you. The weight of the world does not rest on your shoulders. Instead of seeing yourself as the center of the universe, broaden your perspective and recognize yourself as part of a vast creation. Acknowledge that you may not always see or understand the big picture. Consider not taking someone else's words or actions so personally.
2. Don't make a drama out of it. Today, don't dramatize your emotions, fears, or conflicts. Shrink them by a few degrees. 3. Do the next thing. Do the next thing required of you, without second guessing yourself. To the best of your ability today, work in stillness and humility. |
AuthorTarn Wilson is the author of the memoir The Slow Farm and numerous essays. You may read more of her work at tarnwilson.com. Archives
September 2020
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