Another Email I Received, Author Unkown. . .
You do know, of course,
why you’re here - don’t you?
Because you couldn’t resist the challenge.
Nothing in all creation, not in any sphere of the Universe, compares to being born into time and space without any recollection of your past; having to find your own way when lost, your own courage when frightened, and the infinite powers at your disposal when challenged; left to the elements to rediscover your supremacy over them; driven by your passions so that you might rise above your humble, naked beginnings, and ultimately see through the illusions that had trapped you. To find yourself, once again, high upon the throne of thy Kingdom come from whence it all began.
Either that or you were dared.
What’s Right With You?
The following conversation occurs in Alice in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll is telling us to focus on the the right stuff; what’s right with us.
Alice: Where I come from, people study what they are not good at in order to be able to do what they are good at.
Mad Hatter: We go around in circles here in Wonderland; but we always end up where we started. Would you mind explaining yourself?
Alice: Well, grownups tell us to find out what we did wrong, and never do it again.
Mad Hatter: That’s odd! It seems to me that in order to find out about something, you have to study it. And when you study it, you should become better at it. Why should you want to become better at something and then never do it again? But please continue.
Alice: Nobody tells us to study the right things we do. We’re only supposed to learn from the wrong first, in order to learn from that what not to do. And then, by not doing what I am not supposed to do, perhaps I’ll be right. But I’d rather be right the first time, wouldn’t you?
Things that make you go hmmmmm
the untitled prayer
God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things that should be changed,
And the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Written by the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. It is unclear whether he wrote it in the 1930’s or the 1940’s. Either way, it has been adapted by 12-Step Groups.
You don’t have to be a member of any 12-Step Group to understand that the only person you can change is yourself. That’s what this prayer is declaring. You only have control over your mind – no one else’s. Any parent will tell you that. Can you get a loud, stubborn 4-year old to listen in public when they’re having a tantrum, without brute force or threats? Obviously, some cannot.
We all have ideas how people should or shouldn’t be conducting their lives; we just don’t always like it when they tell us what we should or shouldn’t be doing with our own. Double standard? You bet, but that’s human nature. And sometimes it’ll make us frustrated and nasty when someone we love (even someone we dislike!) is conducting their lives in a manner which we feel is ridiculous. Oh well, let’s talk about them over coffee instead, okay? Perhaps we should mind our own business instead. Maybe that’s what Reinhold had in mind when he wrote the untitled prayer. Maybe he had an epiphany about his own life. We may never know. But we do know that this little prayer packs a powerhouse of wisdom.
So, here’s a breakdown of this prayer, line by line:
Line 1 – you ask for grace and peace to be aware that there are things in this world that you have absolutely no control over.
Line 2 – Okay, so now you know that as long as you’re aware of the things you can change, you need grit to begin that change: the push, the shove, the firecracker under your butt that gets you into gear to start.
Line 3 – The hard part. Enough brains to know what you can change and what you can’t. And what you cannot change includes everything outside your head.
And that folks is it in a nutshell. Godspeed to you in getting your head around this. This is another one of my daily struggles, but so worth it.
Anam Cara
A Friendship Blessing by John O’Donohue
May you be blessed with good friends.
May you learn to be a good friend to yourself.
May you be able to journey to that place in your soul where
there is great love, warmth, feeling, and forgiveness.
May this change you.
May it transfigure that which is negative, distant, or cold
in you.
May you be brought in to the real passion, kinship, and
affinity of belonging.
May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them and may you be there for them;
may they bring you all the blessings, challenges, truth,
and light that you need for your journey.
May you never be isolated.
May you always be in the gentle nest of belonging with your
anam cara.
(Anam Cara is Gaelic for soul friend)