Peace & Ease

“We can be alone at perfect peace and ease” ~Anon.

For many years I had little or no peace and ease… especially not when I was alone. I was the type of person that could feel hopelessly alone even in a room full of people. I was always surrounded by family and friends, but I still felt very alone in the world. I have read many books claiming to have the solution to this problem but I finally found two that actually did fix it. I found that I was treating the symptom of loneliness, rather than the fear of being alone. I rebelled against the idea that I had a fear of being alone and claimed that I “like” to be alone, but the real Truth was that I was isolating out of fear. Nobody really likes the idea of ending up alone. We are herd animals… we’re not built to be alone, it’s unnatural. The goal for today: spot, admit and correct your fears, and go from feeling alone in a room full of people, to not feeling alone… even when you are. Have a great day everybody!

Through

“The only way out is through” ~Robert Frost.

Sometimes we don’t get to conveniently sidestep life’s daily trials and tribulations; sometimes we must stand toe to toe with them and work our way through them. If we want a better life we must learn how to navigate through our difficulties, we must learn how to rise above our fears, we must learn how to forgive, respect, give purely, and Love unconditionally. If we want happiness, peace and freedom… we must take control of our thoughts, our feelings and our actions. I spent years trying to “turn my brain off” because it tormented me at times, when what I should have done instead was learn how to use it properly. My brain wasn’t the problem, my misuse of it was… and I needed to work through that in order to fix it moving forward. The goal for today: prevent as many problems as possible, but when you find yourself amidst your difficulties, work your way through and embrace the growth that comes from the experience. Have a great day everybody!

An Essential Truth

“Resentment is the #1 offender, it destroys more people than anything else” ~Anon.

Resentment destroys relationships, families, friendships, careers… hell, it’s even the root cause of wars if you really think about it. It is the destroyer of all good things in life. What is resentment? It is the chronic refeeling of negative emotions such as guilt, shame, worry, remorse or anger. The method of clearing up resentment is simple, but challenging because it requires us to go contrary to what we are accustomed to thinking and feeling and doing. The Truth is required to fix it and the Truth is that we are created equal… no one is better or worse than anyone else. The Truth is that anger is never justifiable under any circumstances. The Truth is that understanding and forgiveness are absolutely always the Right thing to do. The goal for today: tell yourself the Truth; there is no peace or happiness in resentment… so grow up and let it go. Have a great day everybody!

A Good Day…

Today is a good day to give Love. Yesterday was a good day too, and tomorrow will be as well… but today is right here, right now, so let’s stay focused on that. Every single one of us has the opportunity to give Love today and we should take full advantage of that opportunity. Nothing in this world feels better than giving Love… and therefore, we should be doing it all day, every day. When we “think” we don’t want to Love someone, we are lying to ourselves, and that of course is when it is most important for us to give Love out freely and unconditionally to everyone… even our supposed enemies. Love is always the Right thing to do and it is where all of our true Peace and Happiness comes from. The goal for today: give Love and live Free. Have a great day everybody!

Happy Easter!

Make Good Choices

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. So the choice I make from moment to moment, throughout my entire life, is this: do I want to feel good… or do I want to feel bad. Nothing and no one can force these feelings upon me… they come as a direct result of my moment to moment decision making processes. My thoughts are a choice, my feelings are a choice, my actions are a choice—in fact… free will would suggest that absolutely everything in life is a choice. The goal for today: choose to do the Right thing, for the Right reason (Purity), choose to tell myself and others the Truth (Honesty), choose to give rather than take from the world (Unselfishness), and choose to live by the impersonal sense of good will toward all (Love). Have a great day everybody… and remember to make good choices!

Fundamental

“Deep down in every man, woman and child is the fundamental idea of God” ~Anon.

What does that mean, you ask? Here’s what it means to me. It means that every single one of us came here with the innate ability to know right from wrong. No one really needs to be taught right from wrong… but we do all need to be reminded of it from time to time. God (or whatever you choose to call the power that created the universe) communicates with us through our conscience, which gives us the ability to feel what’s right and what’s wrong… and if we learn how to listen to it and line our will up with that feeling, life gets easier and far more fulfilling. Right and wrong become abundantly clear when we pay attention to that feeling and then we get to make the conscious decision of whether or not we will follow its guidance. The goal for today: pay attention, do what you know in your heart is right, and enjoy a better way of living. Have a great day everybody!

Mental… or Spiritual?

Last night I heard a friend say that losing a really good job turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to them. It seems a bit strange when we hear people say things like that, but I understand exactly what they mean. On the spiritual plane, good is good and bad is bad… but on the mental plane, psychologically speaking, we sometimes get things a bit twisted up. In my head when good things happen it might bring on some complacency and I settle comfortably into the situation and don’t pursue any further progress; whereas when something bad happens… it might light a fire under my ass to get up and take action. Obviously, the best way for us to work is spiritually, where true reality (metaphysics) is in full swing. The goal for today: don’t rely on the “gift of desperation” (mental illness) to make your life better—rely on spiritual fitness and let the glorious gift of God’s Love forever move you forward and help you find Peace. Have a great day everybody!

Grow Together

It’s okay to disagree… it’s not really okay to try to force other people to agree with what you believe though. Just like everything else in life, this has three ranges: an unhealthy extreme left, an unhealthy extreme right, and a healthy middle range… where sanity resides. We shouldn’t be blindly led by other people’s opinions, and we shouldn’t belligerently insist that other people agree with our opinions; we need to relearn how to have healthy, spirited debates about things that lead to compromise, understanding, and unity. I feel as though we have basically become two warring factions destroying the whole, rather than two open-minded groups working toward the greater good of all. If you believe that your side is always right and the other side is always wrong… then you may have missed the whole point of democracy. The goal for today: know that no one is always right, and no one is always wrong; learn from both sides and grow together. Have a great day everybody!

Genuinely & Sincerely

Three really powerful and important life lessons that I learned have truly turned my whole life around. 1) I learned that “I’m sorry” means… I won’t do it again. 2) I learned that “I forgive you” means… I set us both free by letting go of my resentment. 3) I learned that “I Love you” means… God gave me Love freely and unconditionally and that I should in turn do the same for you. I used to use “I’m sorry” to patch things up on the surface and avoid burning a potential bridge to safety for myself. I used to think “I forgive you” meant that I was saying what you did to me is okay. I used to think “I Love you” was something you say to get what you want from someone; I would say “I Love you” and then very impatiently wait for appreciation and/or reciprocation. The goal for today: now that I know what these things really mean I should practice using them genuinely and sincerely every chance I get. Have a great day everybody!

From The Inside Out

“Safety is not a place, it’s a feeling” ~from the series Tin Star.

I Like this quote because it reminds me that all the most important things in life come from inside… not outside. I spent a great deal of time rearranging all of the external things in life hoping that it would lead to inner peace… but it didn’t work. Life works from the inside out… not from the outside in. If I want to feel a true sense of things like inner peace, security, safety, self-esteem, Love, respect, or Wisdom… I must find them within first. Once I find peace within myself… then I can be at peace no matter where I’m at physically. The goal for today: don’t wait for the world to change to find your peace; let your inner peace be the thing that changes the world. Have a great day everybody!