Single Mom Striking Out

I don't know about you but I strongly believe that every single day, we must spend a little bit of time letting go of everything. Have you ever wondered why people like scuba diving? Think about it. From the moment you submerge your head into the water, it is like free falling. You don't hang onto anything and yet knowing that you are not going to fall. Complete faith that the water is going to keep you there, safe. And you are in a completely different world. The world on land, you have too many things to hang onto. You hang onto your wealth. You hang onto your happiness. You hang onto the people you love and like. You hang onto your job. You hang onto your car. You hang onto the latest gadget. Heck, is it any wonder that we have so many depressed people who are alive yet barely alive? :-) So, we can't very well go diving every single day, can we? Gosh, unless you are scuba diver for a living. Or you work at the beach. Not many of us here can do that so, we need to...

We get the morning paper, we open it and read it as we drink our morning coffee. what does that say about the way we start-up our day? ok, let's examine what is usually in the newspaper. would it be safe for me to say that people of today focus on negative, bad things in the world. it is very human to see what is WRONG with the world, instead of what is RIGHT. compare the number of good news in the paper with the number of bad ones and you will see a horrendous difference in number. did anyone ever tell you that starting up yourself positively in the morning makes a world of difference to the way the rest of your day works out? well, it is true. ok, even if you don't have the morning paper (like me), you switch the computer on and start browsing websites with news. even if it is celebrity news and gossip...there is more bad news in there than good ones. in order to change the way we start the day, we need an affirmation. or maybe a question that we can ask ourselves. ...

It is one thing to be patient with others around you. It's quite another learning how to be patient with ourselves. For me, I never used to demand a lot from myself but because yearning to be accepted, respected and be a part of the world, I guess I lost patience with myself along the way. I want to be better. I want to be respected. I want to be good at what I do. I want my kids to be better. I wanted to accepted by the people around me. See how it can distort one's way of life? Well, learn how to be patient with yourself. The only thing you have to know is that you have control over your world, your reality. Focus. Believe. Trust. Faith that you are moving in the right direction. Know that you have the capability to do the best that you can. Be patient with your own expectations. Nature never rushes, nature has a way of working things out, nature never looks at the clock every other minute. Nature never rushes...neither should you.

“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” -Pema Chodron I bet you've heard of the saying that everything happens for a reason. every single one of your friends and family members are in your life for a reason too. therefore, nothing ever really goes away until we have learned what we need to learn from it/them.  sometimes we lose contact with friends or fall out with them - that is because their job in our lives is done, that we have learned what we need to learn from them. it probably has very little to do with them. to find a reason for something, always look within you because only when we address something from within can we control the results without.  if you continue to face problems at work, it is probably because the problem is you. it sounds horribly sad or disheartening to know that we are so weak but it is true. human beings are weak despite our brainy advantage over other animals on this planet.  so, look at everything ...

Of all the quotes that I go through on a daily basis, I think this one struck too close to the heart.  I think the 'trying to be someone else' syndrome is more common amongst girls and ladies than boys or men. That is because society and the media feeds girls with the image of how we should be, how slim we should persevere to be, the type of love we should expect from our other half, the kind of kids we should have, the kind of life we should expect when we love those around us....etc. In today's society, it's even more worrying and suffice to say that I have become thankful that I do not have daughters. If I did, I would have to spend considerable time and effort to assure them that not everyone have to be like the Olsen twins and that Paris Hilton does NOT have a perfect life. And no, you should not turn yourself into one of the Kardashians to be popular amongst your friends. I think of all the things that I wished my parents taught me as I was growing up is this...

'Nothing can hurt you emotionally if you give it no permission' Think about it. If a friend said hurtful things to you, what is the first thing that happens to you physically? Your breath quickens, you start getting emotional. you can't believe your GOOD FRIEND has the heart to say such hurtful things to you. you get angry. and then you retaliate. and then you regret. in reality, emotional hurt starts from the inside and nothing can hurt your heart unless you personally sign the memo entitled 'can i hurt your feelings?' with your signature, you have given mere words to have their way with you. you give it not only permission but also control. as you see or hear things, so you feel. as you feel, so you think as you think, so you will as you will, so you act so, the next time someone says something totally mean to you, just turn around and say 'thank you for sharing your views with me'. give them no permission to affect you.