I recently attended a 3 day retreat where, among other topics, we reflected and shared what we wanted to be our Life Themes for the remainder of our time on this planet. It was a small group, 8 or so, most in their 60’s and accomplished in life. My Life Themes divided in two parts: “Ground Level”, my day to day priorities/activities and “50,000 Feet”, who and what I want to become for even as I approach my 64th birthday, life remains an adventure and my commitment to Life Long Learning remains as strong as ever. What follows is the 1st half of the “50,000 Feet” portion of my Life Themes, annotated.
I am Responsible for all I See.
We 1st choose what we pull out to focus on from a world of overwhelming stimuli and then we “see” it through the filters of our world view, our expectations, and our preconceptions and then we choose how to feel/respond.
Quote: “Given a choice between their world view and the facts, it’s always interesting how many people toss the facts.” – Rebecca Solnit
Quote: “Every story is informed by a worldview.” – Brian Godawa
I Release All Thoughts that Hurt. All That I Give To Others, I Give to Myself. Forgiveness offers me all that I Want/Need.
Hanging on to resentment, judgements, worries, negative thoughts rarely serves me and often weakens me.
Generosity and caring are usually returned in abundance; if not, that is a sign I should seek to hang out with a different group of people or find another organization to associate with!
Forgiveness is a gift we first give to ourselves. It releases up a LOT of energy, allowing us to move forward, not be chained to the past. The past should be a place of Reference, not Residence!
Quote: “The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” – Steve Maraboli
Quote: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” – Mahatma Gandhi, All Men are Brothers: Autobiographical Reflections
Today, I will Judge Nothing That Occurs.
Judging rarely serves us, usually is unnecessary, and frequently leaves us with negative emotions that harm us. Judging is actually the last of a 3 stage process that happens so fast we are often unaware. 1st, we choose to Observe something: “That person is smoking.” 2nd, we choose to Evaluate: “Smoking is slow suicide, second hand smoke is harmful.” 3rd, we choose to Judge: “That person is undisciplined, perhaps even bad because others are hurt by their second hand smoke and it is unfair that I will be forced to share in their unnecessary health care costs.” Once we are aware, we can choose to stop at any point in the process or not even start.
Quote: “To love a man enough to help him, you have to forfeit the warm, self-righteous glow that comes from judging.” – Ron Hall
Quote: “When we are judging everything, we are learning nothing.” – Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
As always, I share what I most want/need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier