"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. " ~Epictetus*
Oh yes. My minds agrees. At the same time my heart wants empathy. And my gut senses that everything matters.
I want empathy for the hurts and injustices that happen to me, to you, to any one of us and to all of
us.
Something in me asks, "Isn't it wise and healthy to be real with our feelings and first reactions?"
Sometimes we need to cry, howl, punch pillows, and complain to anyone who will listen when a biopsy report comes back "positive," or when our house burns down, or when identity theft happens, or when we are "let go" when a company moves its work off
shore, or when our spouse runs off with another person and all our savings, or worse, or not as bad. Sometimes a paper cut feels like the umpteenth wound.
Let's just not get stuck, no matter what, in the crying, complaining or blaming, begin to feel powerless, and think and speak like victims.
We have tremendous power and potential. We can take what happens, deal with it, heal from it, and turn what happened to us into what is happening for us.
We can even end up making a positive difference for others and the world.
No matter what happens, how we respond matters. With compassion and courage, we can be victors.
Always,
Charlene
*Thank you, Angela, for sharing one of your favorite quotes with us.
THE THIRD GIFT IS COURAGE. May you speak and act with confidence and use courage to follow your own path. - from The Twelve Gifts of Birth