Unforgivness

It takes six months to get into shape (I've been at it for four?) and two weeks to get out of shape. Once you know this you can stop being angry about other things in life and only be angry about this. What a great idea- an impersonal focus for our anger and rage. It's even better if we expand the picture a little bit to get a broader perspective, accepting that in general life isn't fair. Way back when I was younger I spent a lot of time exclaiming that it (whatever "it" was!) wasn't fair. Whenever I saw something that I perceived as being unfair (and, of course, there were examples all around me), I became indignant, self-righteous, infuriated, and sometimes (very rarely, of course) combative. As I look back, I'm not sure that any of these reactions accomplished much except to get me exhausted, beat-up, resentful, and in trouble. It took me a long time to come to the realization that life isn't fair. That's my reality and everyone else's. I don't have to like it. I do have to accept it. Life just isn't fair. I can't possibly see the whole picture, and, from my limited view, life isn't fair. Once the conclusion has been accepted, how do I move on? I can be as fair as I can, given my limitations. I can accept reality and move on. I can be kind, considerate, caring, patient, and supportive in dealing with those who experience great unfairness. Do you fight the unfairness of life? You could accept it and move on, contributing what you can. Acceptance! Hmm! HugsBob

HAPPINESS

We have our brush and colors-paint Paradise and in we go. We find in our experiences and in our daily reveries just what we anticipate. If we greet the day wearing a smile, confident that we are needed and able to make a contribution, we’ll discover that the day holds great promise. What we need to understand is that every day holds just as much promise as we’re capable of expecting. We carry within ourselves the image of the picture we’re creating. Since the choice to find happiness rather than sorrow and regret is our own, why does the latter even attract us? For no other reason than we fail to believe that we’re deserving of happiness. We know our own shortcomings; we’re aware of the details in our lives for which we feel shame. We think only the pure of heart deserve happiness. But we’re human. And this means mistakes are normal and expected. With wisdom comes full understanding of this fact. In the meantime, we can trust that happiness is our birthright. All that’s requested is our belief in it. Today will offer me all that I truly desire. Happiness attracts itself. HugsBob

Skimming the Tree tops

Psalm 103:14 He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. God is mindful that He created us as finite beings out of a few pounds of garden soil. He understands that...My question is, why don't we understand it? Why do we expect perfection of ourselves and of our associates?... U and I become terribly impatient with our own shortcomings and limitations and with each other. We despair because we think we ought to be in spiritual orbit by this time, when we're barely skimming the treetops...We think we ought instantly, constantly, and effectively to conquer vast territories for the kingdom, like some spiritual Alexander the Great. And when it doesn't happen- when victory seems elusive- we grow discouraged. Whenever I start feeling like that, I need to revisit the life of Moses...Here was a man who didn't become effective for God until he was eighty. Long after most of us would be riding a rocking chair or pushing up daises, Moses began his spiritual career. And guess what? God used him mightily! Are U available and ready? HugsBob

IT'S MY CHOICE

I wish U the courage to be warm when the world would prefer U to be cool. For years we listened to the demands of the world and tried to meet them. We may have listened to our parents and did what they told us to do. We may have heard the needs of a lover or friend and tried to meet them all. We may have even paid heed to absolute strangers, making changes in ourselves to honor their opinions. Like a reptile, we may have absorbed the temperature of our surroundings and adjusted our body temperature accordingly. We may have found comfort in being warm when the world was warm or being cool when the world was cool. But we can, in the words of Thoreau, march to a beat of a different drummer. We can say no when others want to hear yes. We can set limits when others ask too much. We can even be warm when the world wants us to be cool. Others don't have power over us anymore. Only we have power over ourselves. I won't let anyone or anything have power over the way I feel. I can feel warm or cool it's my choice. HugsBob

Defects

We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects. Those areas of our lives we struggle with the most, such as impatience, control, energy, or procrastination, offer us opportunities for great victories. But even more, they offer greater learning, and the greatest chance for further growth and development when we relinquish our struggle. We can be certain that any activity attracting our involvement will provide chances to demonstrate both our positive qualities and our defects. Our human need to be rid of defects can hamper our progress, keeping us stuck in old behavior. But when we've come to accept defects as normal we can even capitalize on them. They define who we are momentarily. We need to remember that defects are generally assets that have become twisted with use. Therefore, we can understand their origin and smooth off the rough edges. Assets and defects will switch places in our repertoire. We can use each for the greater good of the enterprise deserving our attention. Defects have so much to teach us. They offer us meaningful opportunities for growth and mature action. Today's assets were yesterday's defects and where we stumble today, tomorrow we'll glide. My defects will offer me new learning today if I relinquish my incessant urge to be free of them. HugsBob

Infectious Joy

Ps 126:2 Our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting; then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." Perhaps U find Urself among those in the if-only group. U say U would laugh if only U had more money...if only U had more talent or were more beautiful...if only U could find a more fulfilling job. I challenge those excuses. Just as more money never made anyone generous and more talent never made anyone grateful, more of anything never made anyone joyful. Without exception, people who consistently laugh do so in spite of, seldom because of anything. They pursue fun rather than wait for it to knock on their door in the middle of the day. Such infectiously joyful believers have no trouble convincing people around them that Christianity is real and Christ can transform a life. Joy is the flag that flies above the castle of their hearts, announcing that the King is in residence. HugsBob

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Putting a question correctly is one thing and finding the answer to it is something quite different. Questions and answers lie within us. Unfortunately, they don't come in matched sets, numbered or color-keyed so we can match them up. Sometimes we think we have all the answers and we wish we knew the questions. In fact, the questions are often more difficult to find, especially questions that have to do with our deepest feelings. What do we want? How do we feel about it? Such questions threaten to expose us- to lay bare our vulnerable selves. For once we acknowledge that we want something, we risk not getting it. But if we can remain deaf even to question, we protect our vulnerability. The other side of that, of course, is that we'll never get what we want until we acknowledge that question. We must work to choose the risk of hearing the wrong answer over the certainty of deafness. Is lack of pain worth shutting down my capacity for pleasure? Let me strengthen myself to risk joy. HugsBob