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Letting It Go

11 Apr

Pain is a part of every life. Sometimes things go wrong, people make choices that hurt us, or unexpected developments derail our lives and we suffer. It’s impossible to live a perfectly happy existence every single day. We will get hurt from time to time, people will offend us, our plans will go awry, and we will fall. Although it’s unpleasant when we’re going through it, we can overcome whatever happens and find joy again. Sometimes if something truly disastrous happens, something that hurts us so badly we feel broken, we may struggle to keep going. When the pain is intense and it’s hard to face the future, we may hold on tightly to what has happened. It may seem holding onto the pain helps us hold onto what has been lost and we can hold on so tightly we hold ourselves in place indefinitely. If we can’t let go we can’t move forward. What’s done is done and what we do next is up to us. There is nothing, no matter how horrible or disastrous it may be, that can control our lives unless we let it. We can face any situation clearly, feel the sorrow for the loss and then let it go. Letting go does not diminish what has happened. We can grieve for what we’ve suffered and then move forward with confidence knowing we have overcome and will find happiness again.

It’s possible to get stuck going over the same scenarios again and again looking for answers. Sometimes it’s important to know why things went wrong if we’ve made a mistake so we learn from the experience and don’t make it again. But other times we suffer loss through no fault of our own because of situations out of our control or decisions made by others. If there was nothing we could do to prevent the loss, there is nothing to be gained by reviewing it over and over. Every experience teaches us something but we can only learn the lesson if we are willing to see it objectively and then move forward. We have all the courage we need to face whatever comes to us and we can rely on that courage to move forward and begin again.

The road ahead is filled with many experiences and events. In our darkest hours if we take one step forward there will be something new waiting for us. There are countless doors we may walk through that will bring us happiness and satisfaction. They’re all there just ahead waiting to be opened. If we stay where we are and hold onto what is gone we cannot get there. Our lives are precious and each day, each moment is a gift that once passed can never be recaptured. We can go forward a little at a time and as we gain strength discover limitless arenas of happiness waiting for us. Life flies by in an instant. We don’t need to give another moment away to something that has been lost. We can move forward into the sunshine and be happy.

Today if you’ve been holding onto a big disappointment or pain that hurt you deeply, you can set it aside and let it go. You have so much to offer and there is so much happiness waiting for you. Take a step forward and begin again. There is sunshine just ahead and light to find the way.

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Clean Paper

2 Feb

Our lives reflect everything we experience as time passes.  We aren’t perfect and sometimes we do things that don’t work out or make a mistake that affects us or others.  When we’re carrying around the results of a negative experience it’s sometimes hard to get a fresh perspective and feel we can begin again.  But every single day is a new beginning like taking a clean sheet of paper with nothing written on it and starting a new story.  There may be some writing in the margins where we have things we need to work out or finish, but the main page is blank and ready for us to start anew.  Researchers say we make about 35,000 decisions each day.  With so many options the stories we can write are limitless.  We are never constrained or restricted by anything but our own choices.  There may be pressure from those around us to go one way or another and there may be restraints on our time, but ultimately we decide what we will do.  No matter what has happened in the past we have a new piece of paper to write on each day, and we can be confident in writing the story we want most.  Today we can write it any way we like, and tomorrow we can start again.  Life is all about our experiences and we can determine what many of them will be and where they will take us.

Although we all know our lives belong to us, there may be times when we allow the pressures of those around us or situations to control what we do.  We may go along and travel down a road we don’t want because someone we care about thinks it’s best for us.  Or in an effort to face a difficult situation, we might choose an option that takes us away from where we want to go in order to solve a complicated issue.  We can do whatever we want but each time we trade what we want most for something else we lose some control over our future.  We have the power to live our lives in ways that make us truly happy but that requires us to make choices that create happiness.  If we give our lives away, others will take them.  We deserve to determine where we’ll go and what we’ll do.  We have everything we need to create the lives we really want and when we do, happiness will follow.

There may be times when we feel we need to trade something we want for something else in order to keep the peace, or to get along, or change a situation that isn’t working.  If we make the trade, we must accept where the decision takes us.  However, no road is permanent and we can always change our course.  We can make decisions well and if we’re headed to a destination we don’t want, we can reroute our way forward.  We have a new piece of paper every single day.  We can start a new path and change our story until it fits us perfectly.

Today if you’ve been carrying around the remains of a negative situation and it’s holding you back, leave it behind in yesterday’s story.  You have a new day you may design any way you want.  You have so much to offer.  You know the road you want to travel and it’s perfect for you.  Choose your way forward and let your story reflect who you really are.

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The Same

6 Jan

When we go through bad experiences that make a big impression on us and impact us deeply, we may get stuck. Moments that are intensely painful may alter the way we see things going forward. If we’ve faced a very hard trial, or one that has hurt us severely, we may struggle with self-confidence. Life is full of experiences and some of them can be very difficult. But our experiences are only passages and we can navigate through them, learn from them and then let them go. If we hold onto the past, we may find we are unable to live fully in the moment where we are. If we focus on something that is behind us and relive it again and again in our minds, all our days going forward will look the same and we may miss the full experience life has to offer us. Each day is filled with possibilities and if we are in the moment, living now, we may fully embrace them and enhance our lives. We must let go of the past if we want our present and our futures to be filled with promise. What’s behind us will never return. There is nothing we can do to change it. We can let it go, and move forward with confidence.

The human mind is complex and capable of managing many things at once. We can adjust and adapt to virtually anything that comes to us and we can figure out any problems we may face. But if we are constantly pre-occupied with something that has already happened and can never be changed, we may go around and around thinking about it and reliving it. There is no way to re-write history. There is no way to alter what has already occurred and the best we can do is learn all we can from the experience and then let it go. It’s not easy to overcome a serious setback or let go of an extreme disappointment. But rehashing it over and over again, revisiting it endlessly to see if we can uncover some hidden meaning or try to figure out why it happened, will never help us going forward. Our lives are precious and each day is a gift. We can learn from the past but if we want to be truly happy we must embrace the future.

Time marches on. We can think about things that are behind us and learn from them and our memories allow us to do that. But memories are only snapshots of what no longer exists. We deserve every blessing and every happiness. Bad things happen to us all. When they are in the past, we can learn from them and then we can let them go. We have so much promise for the days ahead and our happiness depends on our ability to embrace it. We can be happy and we can have joy no matter what has happened before. This life is a wonderful gift. We can embrace each day as it comes and find joy going forward.

Today if you’ve been obsessing over something that has passed and are struggling to let it go, remember today is your most precious gift. There is nothing that can change what is behind you. You can let go of yesterday and embrace today. Look forward. You have so much to offer and there is great happiness ahead. Reach for it and let it come.

 

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Under Cover

20 Dec

People are complicated. They don’t always show us everything they are or what they can do. We all have things we keep to ourselves and some of us hold our cards closer to our chests than others. Sometimes we’re shy, sometimes we don’t have enough confidence to open all our doors, and sometimes we prefer to keep things private. Because we can’t know everything behind the scenes we often make judgments based on what we can see. We don’t know that man at work who dresses funny is an excellent painter who does stunning abstracts. Or that woman at church who is always so aloof spends two days a week teaching reading to underprivileged children. Or our grouchy old neighbor is an accomplished musician who traveled the world performing. If we don’t take any time to know others, all we see is what’s on the surface of those around us. We can’t know what’s beneath the obvious unless we take the time to find out. Saying hello in passing and making judgments based on what’s obvious will only give us part of the story. This world can be a lonely place and it’s hard to feel connected when nobody really knows who we are. We can bring happiness and comfort by asking and letting others share themselves with us. As we get to know each other better we can build understanding and bring unity to our world.

If you’ve ever gone snorkeling in the ocean, you’ve seen some of the different and wonderful things that exist below the surface. It’s a far different world below than it seems when we look out onto the water. The surface may be beautiful but all we can see is the very top of what’s there. Under the water there are countless types of fish, plants, corals and other things that are amazing in their diversity and scope. One could never imagine what is beneath the water by looking only at the surface. It’s the same with us. We can only see what’s on the outside of those around us. We know what they look like and how they react in a limited environment. If we really want to know who they are, we have to dive deeper and spend some time getting to know what’s below the surface.

Some people are very private and it takes a while to get to know them. They have their own reasons for why they keep to themselves, but if we engage them and show we are their friends and can be trusted, they will open up to us and reveal more of who they are. And when they do we’ll be embellished by learning more about them and the connections between us will strengthen. We may forge a bond of trust and respect that wasn’t there before. The whole human race is our family. We belong to it and it belongs to us. Learning about each other helps us understand more and feel closer as we move forward.

Today if you’ve been keeping to yourself and not showing the world who you really are, take a chance and open up. If there is someone you would like to know better, engage them and let them show you who they are. We all have so much to offer. Today share yourself and let others tell you about their lives as well. You’ll feel closer and more connected and your world will expand.

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What Is

22 Nov

Sometimes we want things in our lives to be different than they are. Maybe we aren’t happy in a relationship, maybe we don’t like our jobs, maybe we wish we looked differently, or want a change that has eluded us. There are times when the life we’re living may not be who we really are or where we really want to be. We may wish things were different, we may dream about the situation changing and we may hope our lives will shift to something closer to what we want. We can work toward changing anything we want and modify our lives in ways that make us happier. But until we make the changes needed, we are where we are. Learning to live with what is real right now can help us understand and plan for changes to get us where we want to be. Sometimes when we’re unhappy we may look the other way and pretend things are different than they are. We may ignore the situation and just keep plowing through a life that doesn’t fulfill us. But ignoring a situation never changes it and we deserve to be happy. We can find true happiness by facing our lives as they are, seeing what is right now, and then making a plan to correct our course to get the lives we really want.

Some people have trouble living in the present. They constantly talk about the past and live through their memories or dream about a future that is different than what they’re living. Memories are great and we learn a lot from the lessons of the past but that is behind us and cannot be re-lived. It’s over and although we may revisit it, if we let it control our present it may paralyze us and keep us from moving forward. Dreaming of our future may help us formulate plans to make it a reality but we must do more than dream. Continually thinking about how things could be takes us away from what they are. What is now is what we’re living. If we want to change, we can but simply dreaming about it will do nothing but freeze us in place. If we can openly see and accept where we are we can then decide where we want to go and begin moving forward.

It can be hard to accept difficult changes that come to us. If someone we love leaves us or betrays us, if we get hurt and can no longer use our body the way we have before, or some other severe challenge enters our lives we may find it hard to move forward. We may wish we could go back in time and change things. It may be hard to cope with our new reality and live with our lives as they are. But whether we cope with them and accept them or live in denial, what is real is what we’re living. When we see things as they truly are, we can begin to move forward. Accepting truth opens the doors to understanding and understanding helps us find ways forward to happiness. We can be happy no matter what life gives us. We know what we want and with determination can find our way to any destination we desire.

Today if you’ve been looking the other way and refusing to face a situation in your life that is uncomfortable, remember you deserve to be completely happy. There isn’t anything too difficult or complex for you to face. See everything as it is and make a plan to move forward. You have so much light to offer. Let it shine on you today.

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