Success is an inside job…….when life takes an unanticipated turn, more often than not people look outward for answers and for change. We blame people and our circumstances for our results, and we try to take comfort by absolving ourselves of any responsibility. The big truth in our lives is that we see the world as we are…..not as it is. So as adults we must be able to accept total responsibility for ourselves and our actions. We must be able to say what is on our minds with clarity, kindness and compassion. and we cannot fall apart when we are faced with disappointment – rather we must answer frustration with patience. We must use our heart and soul to guide ourselves….and always remember that we are not responsible for other peoples actions – nor are they responsible for ours.
There will be times when you feel anger, disappointment, or sadness and you will want to direct those emotions at the people you feel are responsible for summoning those feelings. Yet doing that does nothing to resolve the issue rather it forces you into a stand-off with that person. There will always be differences between people and they only become a problem when one of you wants to be right. If you are struggling to find forgiveness with someone or something, then perhaps the reason you haven’t found it, is that you want revenge. Forgiveness can only work when it is offered with compassion. If you would not want to be defined by one choice, one act, then do not define others that way…..and if you have…… then the way back is through your heart.
Emerson said “To laugh often and love much, to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics; to appreciate beauty, to give of one’s self, to leave the world a bit better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived……that is to have succeeded.”