Gommy used to think that Labor Day weekend was a celebration of my birth. My mother did go into labor on Labor Day many, many moons ago. So, each year when I was a youngster, I thought it was pretty cool that everyone took the day off to celebrate my birthday. Goms has since learned this wasn't the case.....but it was delightful to think of it that way for a time anyway.
This birthday will be a BIG number for Goms. Gommy used to think this number was reserved for old ladies. OOPS.....here it is....looming.....chasing......catching up with Goms. But it isn't as scary as it seemed when I was looking ahead at the Big Number while I was still in my 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's and the beginning of my 60's. It is just a number and thankfully.....I hear that 60 is the new 40....WHEW! Glad all those baby-boomers changed the image and the number for really getting old. And it has seemed that lately, the older folks in this country seem to be in better shape that the teens and younger generation. It goes to show that taking care of yourself, exercising and eating properly really does 'Do A Body Good.' Gommy has heard that old age is always 15 years older than we are at any given year ourselves! I like that idea. That way, we never get old, do we? lol
This would be the year that Gommy could start collecting at the first age of eligibility for Social Security.....if only that would be enough to survive the needs of a person in today's market. I guess I could make it on the amount allotted to me if I liked cat food and lived under an overpass or a viaduct. But, I better wait until I get to the age of FULL coverage. But the only thing is......it is impossible to get to that age...because they keep raising it!!!! Gotcha' And then there is always the looming warning that it isn't going to last until we reach the age to start receiving it. NO FAIR....I paid in a WHOLE lotta years and it would be really sneaky to stop it before I had a chance to get any back. GEESH!
Gommy has been so blessed in my life, that getting older really seems more like a gift than a punishment. Having a family, a job, good friends and great health sure makes getting older a whole lot easier to bear. This isn't to say that Goms hasn't had my fair share of sadness, loss, failures, disappointments and unexpected situations to face. Gommy can definitely say I have been adequately and thoroughly vetted in all of the circumstances of life that are not welcomed.
How we face the challenges in life and how we react to them, dictates how the rest of your life will be. We can either become bitter and blame everyone and everything else for our crosses to bear......or we can put our big girl panties on and deal!
Another good thing that comes with aging is that we begin to know ourselves better and we actually start liking ourselves....FINALLY. It takes quite a while to get to the place where we realize we don't care what other people think about our beliefs, lifestyles, how we dress, etc. It is very freeing and makes us wonder why in the heck we cared so much to begin with. Guess it is just the evolution of aging and the rites of passages that we all go through.
So, Gommy will look forward to celebrating another year on this wonderful journey of life. Memories are so precious and the ability to be still making memories with family and their family is the gift we keep giving ourselves. Hopefully, the ole' brain will keep working and Grandpa Mike and I will continue to be able to take of ourselves. The only good thing I can say about losing your memory is that you can hide your own Easter Eggs......lol
Keep making those wonderful memories peeps. They will warm the cockles of your heart when you get older (that is what my grandma from Ireland used to say). Take care of yourselves and eat healthy so you can stay away from doctors. They will kill you if you let em'. Just read those contraindications on the prescriptions you take. Some of them say.....' if you lose your sight or hearing' or if you or a loved one has died from taking XYZ prescription...call'. In the first place, if you have died....Goms doesn't think you'll be calling ANYONE.... and if you still take the pill after being warned that you may go blind or deaf....then you need a psychiatrist not a doctor. So stay well so you can keep away from the doctors office. You can do it...Gommy is pulling for ya' Hugs & Mush- Gommy
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Hurry Up and Change!
Hello boys and girls. Happy Tuesday to everyone. Gommy read a comment by a very wise lady (Oriah) today on Facebook and what she said really resonated with me. What she said, in effect, was that expectations, hopes, dreams and change come like the changing of seasons.
We are moving into Autumn right now and we will have one day of blistering heat and the next day, there will be a whiff and a hint of lessening humidity in the air and a little cooler breeze against our faces. Then the next day will be a 'bam in your face' hot day again. This process goes on until we are fully into the next season.
The seasons of our lives and the changes in our lives work the same way. We want to change something in our life and we set out to change it. Say it is a diet.....we are going on a diet this coming Monday. Yeah, been there and done that one before....right? So we start out like gang-busters. We buy all the fresh fruit and veggies and the lean meats and yogurt. Then we stick to the new regiment like that pasty school glue with the bright orange stick in the middle. But we usually have a slip up at some time and we take a few steps back. Then we resolve to start it over. We haven't gotten too far off track yet.....And we forge ahead....AGAIN.
Or take breaking a bad habit. We promise ourselves we are going to stop....biting our nails.....smoking.......gossiping......being so stubborn....arguing, etc. And we are very, very good for a while and then....something derails us. Want to know a little secret? We are the ones that derail ourselves. We can't blame someone else all the time. It isn't easy to change a bad habit. That is why it is called a 'habit'. It is something that we do continually and usually it is done subconsciously.....so it has been ingrained IN us BY us! So, we have to be very aware of what we are thinking and be alert to our old ways and diligently keep a lid on the old booga-boo. Then we will be able to see the change start to manifest.
Staying in the lines isn't easy. Many of us have learned our way of life by repeating the same patterns over and over and over. When things don't change the way we 'wish' they would.....we become grouchy and can't imagine why things stay the same. Albert Enistein quoted that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Pretty smart guy, that Albert!
But as long as we realize that there are going to be periods of a few steps forward and a couple of steps back and then going forward again......we may not throw the baby out with the bath water when we are going through these steps of change. Maybe the next time we are trying to change ourselves or a habit we are trying to overcome, we may remember this and be able to stick to whatever it is that we are hoping to change.
Anything worth having is worth the work it takes to get there boys and girls. Don't skip the challenges in life because they are challenging. Don't think that you don't have what it takes to be strong enough to get over or through whatever it is that you want to change. Because you do, you are, and you will. So take it easy on yourself if you 'fall off the wagon'. It isn't the end of the possibility. As long as you try again. There is a good quote on this very subject; "Courage is not always a roar, but sometimes a quite whisper at the end of the night saying, 'I will try again tomorrow". You can do it kiddies......Gommy is pulling for you. Hugs and Mush, Gommy
We are moving into Autumn right now and we will have one day of blistering heat and the next day, there will be a whiff and a hint of lessening humidity in the air and a little cooler breeze against our faces. Then the next day will be a 'bam in your face' hot day again. This process goes on until we are fully into the next season.
The seasons of our lives and the changes in our lives work the same way. We want to change something in our life and we set out to change it. Say it is a diet.....we are going on a diet this coming Monday. Yeah, been there and done that one before....right? So we start out like gang-busters. We buy all the fresh fruit and veggies and the lean meats and yogurt. Then we stick to the new regiment like that pasty school glue with the bright orange stick in the middle. But we usually have a slip up at some time and we take a few steps back. Then we resolve to start it over. We haven't gotten too far off track yet.....And we forge ahead....AGAIN.
Or take breaking a bad habit. We promise ourselves we are going to stop....biting our nails.....smoking.......gossiping......being so stubborn....arguing, etc. And we are very, very good for a while and then....something derails us. Want to know a little secret? We are the ones that derail ourselves. We can't blame someone else all the time. It isn't easy to change a bad habit. That is why it is called a 'habit'. It is something that we do continually and usually it is done subconsciously.....so it has been ingrained IN us BY us! So, we have to be very aware of what we are thinking and be alert to our old ways and diligently keep a lid on the old booga-boo. Then we will be able to see the change start to manifest.
Staying in the lines isn't easy. Many of us have learned our way of life by repeating the same patterns over and over and over. When things don't change the way we 'wish' they would.....we become grouchy and can't imagine why things stay the same. Albert Enistein quoted that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Pretty smart guy, that Albert!
But as long as we realize that there are going to be periods of a few steps forward and a couple of steps back and then going forward again......we may not throw the baby out with the bath water when we are going through these steps of change. Maybe the next time we are trying to change ourselves or a habit we are trying to overcome, we may remember this and be able to stick to whatever it is that we are hoping to change.
Anything worth having is worth the work it takes to get there boys and girls. Don't skip the challenges in life because they are challenging. Don't think that you don't have what it takes to be strong enough to get over or through whatever it is that you want to change. Because you do, you are, and you will. So take it easy on yourself if you 'fall off the wagon'. It isn't the end of the possibility. As long as you try again. There is a good quote on this very subject; "Courage is not always a roar, but sometimes a quite whisper at the end of the night saying, 'I will try again tomorrow". You can do it kiddies......Gommy is pulling for you. Hugs and Mush, Gommy
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Is Everyone Ready For a Little...................R & R????
Hi boys and girls. Gommy heard the phrase R & R this week and realized that it was being referred to as Rest & Relaxation. But Gommy wondered what else could R & R mean. For today's thought....Goms wants to use it as Risk and Reward.
Risk and Reward means that sometimes we have to take a little risk to get a big reward. How, you ask? Let Gommy tell you how. If we stay in our safe little world, never venturing out to what some of our desires may be.....we get stuck in a rut. Sometimes, we have to change our perspective about the way we are living our lives....if we want them to get any better. If you are all happy, fulfilled, at peace and living the life you love.....then this blog today is not for you. You may be excused from today's lesson.... ;-)
But if you want to understand how our perspective on things 'causes' us to be living the life we are living....then read on peeps! Take a radio station frequency or a TV station. We can 'tune' in or 'tune' to another station or show anytime we want to listen or watch something else. BUT...what do you think is happening to all the multitudes of other stations that are out there waiting to be 'called' upon by you or any other person? They are still there, aren't they? That is the same way the situations of our life are being called to us..... by us. The things we are tuning into.
If we just look through a set of binoculars....we are only seeing the thing we are focusing on through the sight-holes aren't we? We cannot even see what is happening in the same room we are in..... at the same time. There could be people coming in and going out of the room, and we can't 'see' it because we are only focusing our 'awareness' on the object we are looking at through the binoculars. Make sense boys and girls?
Think about this.....I'm sure we have all heard that we are all 'creatures of habit'. That is because we get comfortable in our little 'bubble' that we have made for ourselves and we don't usually like it when we are nudged out of it. But if we aren't exactly thrilled with how we have 'made' up our little reality, then we have to Risk changing to receive any Rewards......Can't have it both ways peeps. If you want to change something in your life.....you have to change the way you are calling it to you.
Going back to the radio and TV station analogy....if you really don't think you can 'call' up how you are perceiving your life....then how can we reach back in our memory bank to a time or to a person from our past? Where was that memory before we 'decided or called' it into being? It was still 'OUT THERE'.....somewhere waiting to be called forth. If we are constantly saying how bleak our lives are....or how unlucky we are.......or how nothing seems to ever go our way.........guess what? You are right. You are calling that to yourself. If, on the other hand, you have the mindset that you are always 'lucky' or that things just seem to fall into place for you or you always seem to be at the right place at the right time.....guess what? You are RIGHT again! That's how it works my good friends. But....here is the 'trick' or the 'secret'....you cannot and I repeat....loudly...CANNOT!!!!! have conflicting thoughts while calling 'whatever' it is to you. You can't say....I want to win the lottery....but deep down you are still cultivating that old mindset of....BUT I've never been lucky. You have to get to the 'root' of what you really believe....way down deep in your 'made up' idea of yourself.
For example, Gommys' husband....Grandpa Mike, has always been considered the luckiest guy anyone has ever met. Gommy has seen several examples of how this would seem to be the case. Each time we are together and are looking for a parking spot....Grandpa always seems to find one right in front of the store....restaurant...or place of business we are going to. And he always remarks....."Looks like we found my spot." And we dooooooo! Amazingly. Grandpa Mike always thinks he is going to find the perfect parking spot......and by golly.....he does.
Another example would be that when you are carrying a bowl of some sort of liquid....soup, cereal..etc. and you think you are going to spill it.....nine times out of ten.....you do spill it. Or how many times have we said to ourselves that we are probably going to slip and fall at the most inopportune moment....and we do? Or almost do....and then make a quick self-correct just before we bust our butts. We are focusing on doing it and we do it. Or how about the athlete that sees themselves beating the World Record....or winning the game? They willed it. You may ask what about the other side. They wanted to win too, didn't they? Well...maybe they didn't completely 'BELIEVE' they were going to win.
Here is another really good example. No names here........but Gommy bets you can figure out who we are talking about. There is an exceptionally talented golfer who was considered a phenom. Who no one could seem to beat....who won all the major tournaments there were to win. Everyone said he had the focus to win.....he was always in the 'zone'....he saw himself winning all the time.......and so did everyone else. Welllllllll...........one day (or a number of days) this golfer took his focus off his game and turned it somewhere else. Somewhere that was not a good place to go or to focus on. Guess what? His game went down the toilet....so to speak. Now, the reality is that this golfer is still the same golfer that was considered to be a phenom.....he still has all the skills he ever did....nothing happened to his abilities....The only thing that changed was his focus and his belief that he could still win his golf matches. His perspecetive changed and so did many of his fans' perspectives change about him.
So, why not try to Risk a little something......that you probably don't even like anyway.....and look for the Reward you may be revealing for yourself, from a shift in your awareness or perspective? Look outside of the bubble or binoculars. There are several different ways to look at the same thing. Try seeing the glass half full for a change. You can find just as many things that are going right as you can find that are negative. We seem to always find what we are focusing on.....don't we???? Like the great motivational speaker Wayne Dyer says......."If we change the way we look at things....the things we look at change." I know...I know.... I keep referring to that quote....but it really rings true in most every instance we can think of. Try it boys and girls...you can do it....Gommy is pulling for you! Hugs & Mush, Goms
Risk and Reward means that sometimes we have to take a little risk to get a big reward. How, you ask? Let Gommy tell you how. If we stay in our safe little world, never venturing out to what some of our desires may be.....we get stuck in a rut. Sometimes, we have to change our perspective about the way we are living our lives....if we want them to get any better. If you are all happy, fulfilled, at peace and living the life you love.....then this blog today is not for you. You may be excused from today's lesson.... ;-)
But if you want to understand how our perspective on things 'causes' us to be living the life we are living....then read on peeps! Take a radio station frequency or a TV station. We can 'tune' in or 'tune' to another station or show anytime we want to listen or watch something else. BUT...what do you think is happening to all the multitudes of other stations that are out there waiting to be 'called' upon by you or any other person? They are still there, aren't they? That is the same way the situations of our life are being called to us..... by us. The things we are tuning into.
If we just look through a set of binoculars....we are only seeing the thing we are focusing on through the sight-holes aren't we? We cannot even see what is happening in the same room we are in..... at the same time. There could be people coming in and going out of the room, and we can't 'see' it because we are only focusing our 'awareness' on the object we are looking at through the binoculars. Make sense boys and girls?
Think about this.....I'm sure we have all heard that we are all 'creatures of habit'. That is because we get comfortable in our little 'bubble' that we have made for ourselves and we don't usually like it when we are nudged out of it. But if we aren't exactly thrilled with how we have 'made' up our little reality, then we have to Risk changing to receive any Rewards......Can't have it both ways peeps. If you want to change something in your life.....you have to change the way you are calling it to you.
Going back to the radio and TV station analogy....if you really don't think you can 'call' up how you are perceiving your life....then how can we reach back in our memory bank to a time or to a person from our past? Where was that memory before we 'decided or called' it into being? It was still 'OUT THERE'.....somewhere waiting to be called forth. If we are constantly saying how bleak our lives are....or how unlucky we are.......or how nothing seems to ever go our way.........guess what? You are right. You are calling that to yourself. If, on the other hand, you have the mindset that you are always 'lucky' or that things just seem to fall into place for you or you always seem to be at the right place at the right time.....guess what? You are RIGHT again! That's how it works my good friends. But....here is the 'trick' or the 'secret'....you cannot and I repeat....loudly...CANNOT!!!!! have conflicting thoughts while calling 'whatever' it is to you. You can't say....I want to win the lottery....but deep down you are still cultivating that old mindset of....BUT I've never been lucky. You have to get to the 'root' of what you really believe....way down deep in your 'made up' idea of yourself.
For example, Gommys' husband....Grandpa Mike, has always been considered the luckiest guy anyone has ever met. Gommy has seen several examples of how this would seem to be the case. Each time we are together and are looking for a parking spot....Grandpa always seems to find one right in front of the store....restaurant...or place of business we are going to. And he always remarks....."Looks like we found my spot." And we dooooooo! Amazingly. Grandpa Mike always thinks he is going to find the perfect parking spot......and by golly.....he does.
Another example would be that when you are carrying a bowl of some sort of liquid....soup, cereal..etc. and you think you are going to spill it.....nine times out of ten.....you do spill it. Or how many times have we said to ourselves that we are probably going to slip and fall at the most inopportune moment....and we do? Or almost do....and then make a quick self-correct just before we bust our butts. We are focusing on doing it and we do it. Or how about the athlete that sees themselves beating the World Record....or winning the game? They willed it. You may ask what about the other side. They wanted to win too, didn't they? Well...maybe they didn't completely 'BELIEVE' they were going to win.
Here is another really good example. No names here........but Gommy bets you can figure out who we are talking about. There is an exceptionally talented golfer who was considered a phenom. Who no one could seem to beat....who won all the major tournaments there were to win. Everyone said he had the focus to win.....he was always in the 'zone'....he saw himself winning all the time.......and so did everyone else. Welllllllll...........one day (or a number of days) this golfer took his focus off his game and turned it somewhere else. Somewhere that was not a good place to go or to focus on. Guess what? His game went down the toilet....so to speak. Now, the reality is that this golfer is still the same golfer that was considered to be a phenom.....he still has all the skills he ever did....nothing happened to his abilities....The only thing that changed was his focus and his belief that he could still win his golf matches. His perspecetive changed and so did many of his fans' perspectives change about him.
So, why not try to Risk a little something......that you probably don't even like anyway.....and look for the Reward you may be revealing for yourself, from a shift in your awareness or perspective? Look outside of the bubble or binoculars. There are several different ways to look at the same thing. Try seeing the glass half full for a change. You can find just as many things that are going right as you can find that are negative. We seem to always find what we are focusing on.....don't we???? Like the great motivational speaker Wayne Dyer says......."If we change the way we look at things....the things we look at change." I know...I know.... I keep referring to that quote....but it really rings true in most every instance we can think of. Try it boys and girls...you can do it....Gommy is pulling for you! Hugs & Mush, Goms
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
"A Rose by Any Other Name....Would Smell as Sweet"
Have you ever thought that you were like a flower? Think about it now. That you were 'planted' from a seed and 'fertilized' and 'watered' until you poked through....and BECAME!
And then you were this spindley little 'twig' that was smaller than everyone else in the garden. But you knew that if you kept getting nourished and watered.....that one day you would get buds....and then after a time...you would become this beautiful, beautiful flower too.
You would have the most gorgeous colors and intricate patterns on your soft, velvety petals. And your fragrance would leave whomever got near to you, drunk with your essence. You would finally bloom and be admired and be sought after by many. There would be others like you.....but none exactly as you are.
The 'bees' would come and stop to drink from your core and pass on the best parts of you to make another flower, another day, in another place. In someone else's garden.
One day, someone may 'pick' you and put you in a vase with the other beautiful flowers....to be enjoyed and looked at and seen by others who may visit.
Then one day, your beauty would start to fade....your scent would not be as potent as it once was. There are other beautiful flowers growing in your garden now. Little buds that will grow into beauties too. They will have their turn at being beautiful. It is their time now.
Finally, it would be time to die. But don't be sad....because the best part of you did live on....in the other beautiful flowers that were made possible by the sharing of yourself.
The Bible says it best....Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace. A time to live and a time to die."
It is all part of the beautiful bouquet of Life. We are all part of this beautiful bouquet. You are......they are....I am.......Enjoy your time!
And then you were this spindley little 'twig' that was smaller than everyone else in the garden. But you knew that if you kept getting nourished and watered.....that one day you would get buds....and then after a time...you would become this beautiful, beautiful flower too.
You would have the most gorgeous colors and intricate patterns on your soft, velvety petals. And your fragrance would leave whomever got near to you, drunk with your essence. You would finally bloom and be admired and be sought after by many. There would be others like you.....but none exactly as you are.
The 'bees' would come and stop to drink from your core and pass on the best parts of you to make another flower, another day, in another place. In someone else's garden.
One day, someone may 'pick' you and put you in a vase with the other beautiful flowers....to be enjoyed and looked at and seen by others who may visit.
Then one day, your beauty would start to fade....your scent would not be as potent as it once was. There are other beautiful flowers growing in your garden now. Little buds that will grow into beauties too. They will have their turn at being beautiful. It is their time now.
Finally, it would be time to die. But don't be sad....because the best part of you did live on....in the other beautiful flowers that were made possible by the sharing of yourself.
The Bible says it best....Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace. A time to live and a time to die."
It is all part of the beautiful bouquet of Life. We are all part of this beautiful bouquet. You are......they are....I am.......Enjoy your time!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Turn it Around
Hi boys and girls. Yep...Goms has her thinking cap on again today. Something came up recently that made Gommy think about the title of this blog. Turn it Around.....could mean any number of things....but Gommy is using the concept to mean 'there are two ways to look at something'. There are probably several ways to look at any given situation....but there are always at least two ways.
Take for example, the idea of an argument. If there are two people involved in the tussle....then there are obviously two schools of thinking about the thing they are disagreeing about. Right? If we could, somehow, put ourselves in the other persons' shoes, so to speak, we may loosen our grasp (or grip) on thinking that just our way of thinking about the issue at hand is the ONLY way to look at it.
'Turn it Around' could also apply to when we have something to do that is distasteful, or that we have gotten ourselves into a situation and we wished we hadn't or we find ourselves in a scenario that we feel we have been pushed into. If we try to look (and sometimes we have to really dig at it) to find some redeeming value in doing the nasty thing we have to do.....or see a benefit somewhere for ourselves in doing it...or think of how something good may come of it after all....we may just be able to re-frame how we are feeling about it. Some of you are probably too young...but there was an old song that applies here...."Look for the Silver Lining." Get it???
If we have agreed to something that we weren't entirely 'on board' with, but did so to keep the peace.....and we find that we just can't seem to 'drink the whole glass of kool-aid'....then we may just have to put the experience in our pile marked - "Lesson Learned." And if we have indeed learned the 'lesson', then the next time something comes along that we can 'feel' a bit of that deja' vu sense of, "Oh no you don't... or Oh no you di-ent", we can now have that auto-reflex (also known as the hair on the back of your neck rising.....or a gut-wrenching in your innermost psyche), come to the foreground and stop us in our tracks before we have another 'lesson' to learn. If we are very slow learners....guess what?....you will be put back in the 'class' until you have thoroughly and completely learned your 'lesson'. SORRY :-(
If the same argument is with your significant other and it seems to be coming up all the time......you have to try to 'flip' it or reverse roles and try to see your partners' side of the issue. Gommy wants to interject here though that there are usually three sides in most spousal or relationship arguments.....His - Hers - and THE TRUTH (or hers/hers and the truth or his/his and the truth....don't want to leave anyone out here peeps).... but sorry boys and girls....that is just the way it is. We can usually only see our side of the situation....but to be fair....we have to see how the other person views the disagreement. Now, this is a hard one because you have to be with the other person ALOT.....you can't avoid them as you might be able to do at work, or a friend who is disagreeable or a customer that you won't have to contend with once your business with them is concluded. Your spouse or spousal equivalent is ALWAYS right there....right there in your face.....yapping, yapping, yapping their side of the issue. OOPS....Goms got off on a tangent there. Sorry. ;-]]]]]
Another biggie that Gommy thinks about all the time is the way organized religions all over the world think that only their religion is the right one. What's up with that? Well....Gommy chooses to flip that one too. Fair is fair....For example....Gommy started thinking about the one belief in a certain religion that says that unless you are baptized you will not get into heaven. Really? Seriously? Is God really that petty that He will not allow someone into His Kingdom because they haven't had the luxury of being baptized? Or because they don't wear a burka or a veil covering their face? Or we don't think a cow is sacred. Or because they spoke His name in vain? If that is so, there are many parents out there who have disowned their children because little Jimmy or Jane has told them at one time or another...."I hate you!!!" OOPS, gotcha' there.....we still love them because they are our children. Just as we are ALL God's children.
What about the person who lives in the remotest part of the world and has never been to a Church or a Synagogue or a Mosque....who has never had any outside contact with the civilized world? Do they get a pass? Now wait just a doggone minute here...that would make God a God that takes sides....Don't think so peeps. God does not have an ego.....God does not punish people for things out of their control. We can't have it both ways people. If God is the magnificent, benevolent, forgiving.....loving.....omnisciencent God, that Goms believes He is....He will love everyone the same and not punish those who didn't follow the doctrine of religions (who have many man made rules that were made up as they went anyhow) or who haven't gone to church with a covering on their head, or worked on the Sabbath, or agreed to having a blood transfusion to save their life or the life of a loved one, or prayed for eighteen hours everyday.....and on and on.
God gave us free will to live our lives in a joyous way. We were given all the beauty, blissful experiences, people and tools to ALLOW us to be happy. The mistakes we make are of our own doing. God didn't make anything happen 'to us'. If bad stuff is happening to us, we did it all to ourselves. We brought it to us ourselves. Gommy knows this is a very hard 'pill to swallow' and it is too complicated to go into on this blog today.....maybe another time...or maybe not. We all have to come to our beliefs at our own speed and when WE are ready. You know the old saying....."You can bring a horse to water....but you can't make him drink." We each come to our own beliefs in our own time.....and not one second sooner.
Now on to a less 'touchy' subject. The essence of enjoying our lives is to be happy. Don't make waves when we don't have to. That isn't to say we should become 'doormats' either. But stop sweating the small stuff....and in reality.....it is mostly all small stuff. Try to see other aspects or sides to the 'lessons' we seemingly keep having put in front of us. Ask yourself, "Is this worth any extra precious time I have to dwell on it?" We only have a certain amount of time allotted to us on this journey....use it well. Don't throw it away. ENJOY....there is soooooo much out there to be grateful for.....if you just look with your heart instead of your head sometimes.
Lesson for today.....Look for other ways to 'learn your lessons' by seeing that our perspectives are narrow, only if we refuse to step back and see the bigger picture. It is ALL good peeps. Try to fit in as the observer sometimes and not be the WIZARD of all things... all of the time! Remember that we don't get do-overs, we can't delete problems, skip a challenge that must be faced, or avoid all of the unpleasant situations of life.....but we can try to "Look for the Silver Lining' in them if possible. Have a great day boys and girls....you can do it....Gommy is pulling for you. Hugs & Mush, Gommy
Take for example, the idea of an argument. If there are two people involved in the tussle....then there are obviously two schools of thinking about the thing they are disagreeing about. Right? If we could, somehow, put ourselves in the other persons' shoes, so to speak, we may loosen our grasp (or grip) on thinking that just our way of thinking about the issue at hand is the ONLY way to look at it.
'Turn it Around' could also apply to when we have something to do that is distasteful, or that we have gotten ourselves into a situation and we wished we hadn't or we find ourselves in a scenario that we feel we have been pushed into. If we try to look (and sometimes we have to really dig at it) to find some redeeming value in doing the nasty thing we have to do.....or see a benefit somewhere for ourselves in doing it...or think of how something good may come of it after all....we may just be able to re-frame how we are feeling about it. Some of you are probably too young...but there was an old song that applies here...."Look for the Silver Lining." Get it???
If we have agreed to something that we weren't entirely 'on board' with, but did so to keep the peace.....and we find that we just can't seem to 'drink the whole glass of kool-aid'....then we may just have to put the experience in our pile marked - "Lesson Learned." And if we have indeed learned the 'lesson', then the next time something comes along that we can 'feel' a bit of that deja' vu sense of, "Oh no you don't... or Oh no you di-ent", we can now have that auto-reflex (also known as the hair on the back of your neck rising.....or a gut-wrenching in your innermost psyche), come to the foreground and stop us in our tracks before we have another 'lesson' to learn. If we are very slow learners....guess what?....you will be put back in the 'class' until you have thoroughly and completely learned your 'lesson'. SORRY :-(
If the same argument is with your significant other and it seems to be coming up all the time......you have to try to 'flip' it or reverse roles and try to see your partners' side of the issue. Gommy wants to interject here though that there are usually three sides in most spousal or relationship arguments.....His - Hers - and THE TRUTH (or hers/hers and the truth or his/his and the truth....don't want to leave anyone out here peeps).... but sorry boys and girls....that is just the way it is. We can usually only see our side of the situation....but to be fair....we have to see how the other person views the disagreement. Now, this is a hard one because you have to be with the other person ALOT.....you can't avoid them as you might be able to do at work, or a friend who is disagreeable or a customer that you won't have to contend with once your business with them is concluded. Your spouse or spousal equivalent is ALWAYS right there....right there in your face.....yapping, yapping, yapping their side of the issue. OOPS....Goms got off on a tangent there. Sorry. ;-]]]]]
Another biggie that Gommy thinks about all the time is the way organized religions all over the world think that only their religion is the right one. What's up with that? Well....Gommy chooses to flip that one too. Fair is fair....For example....Gommy started thinking about the one belief in a certain religion that says that unless you are baptized you will not get into heaven. Really? Seriously? Is God really that petty that He will not allow someone into His Kingdom because they haven't had the luxury of being baptized? Or because they don't wear a burka or a veil covering their face? Or we don't think a cow is sacred. Or because they spoke His name in vain? If that is so, there are many parents out there who have disowned their children because little Jimmy or Jane has told them at one time or another...."I hate you!!!" OOPS, gotcha' there.....we still love them because they are our children. Just as we are ALL God's children.
What about the person who lives in the remotest part of the world and has never been to a Church or a Synagogue or a Mosque....who has never had any outside contact with the civilized world? Do they get a pass? Now wait just a doggone minute here...that would make God a God that takes sides....Don't think so peeps. God does not have an ego.....God does not punish people for things out of their control. We can't have it both ways people. If God is the magnificent, benevolent, forgiving.....loving.....omnisciencent God, that Goms believes He is....He will love everyone the same and not punish those who didn't follow the doctrine of religions (who have many man made rules that were made up as they went anyhow) or who haven't gone to church with a covering on their head, or worked on the Sabbath, or agreed to having a blood transfusion to save their life or the life of a loved one, or prayed for eighteen hours everyday.....and on and on.
God gave us free will to live our lives in a joyous way. We were given all the beauty, blissful experiences, people and tools to ALLOW us to be happy. The mistakes we make are of our own doing. God didn't make anything happen 'to us'. If bad stuff is happening to us, we did it all to ourselves. We brought it to us ourselves. Gommy knows this is a very hard 'pill to swallow' and it is too complicated to go into on this blog today.....maybe another time...or maybe not. We all have to come to our beliefs at our own speed and when WE are ready. You know the old saying....."You can bring a horse to water....but you can't make him drink." We each come to our own beliefs in our own time.....and not one second sooner.
Now on to a less 'touchy' subject. The essence of enjoying our lives is to be happy. Don't make waves when we don't have to. That isn't to say we should become 'doormats' either. But stop sweating the small stuff....and in reality.....it is mostly all small stuff. Try to see other aspects or sides to the 'lessons' we seemingly keep having put in front of us. Ask yourself, "Is this worth any extra precious time I have to dwell on it?" We only have a certain amount of time allotted to us on this journey....use it well. Don't throw it away. ENJOY....there is soooooo much out there to be grateful for.....if you just look with your heart instead of your head sometimes.
Lesson for today.....Look for other ways to 'learn your lessons' by seeing that our perspectives are narrow, only if we refuse to step back and see the bigger picture. It is ALL good peeps. Try to fit in as the observer sometimes and not be the WIZARD of all things... all of the time! Remember that we don't get do-overs, we can't delete problems, skip a challenge that must be faced, or avoid all of the unpleasant situations of life.....but we can try to "Look for the Silver Lining' in them if possible. Have a great day boys and girls....you can do it....Gommy is pulling for you. Hugs & Mush, Gommy
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Are You a Willow or an Oak?
Splendid Sunday to all! Another glorious week of experiencing and learning and being thankful for it all. This week, Gommy had the great pleasure of connecting with someone who is soooooo far ahead of Gommy in the enlightenment department that it turned out to be a wonderful week of learning for Goms. And Gommy has always loved, loved, loved learning.
During our conversations.....the topic came up of how people are so different in their beliefs, biases, outlooks, mode of living, etc. We eventually got around to talking about those people who are very Black OR White. There is no gray in their way of living or thinking. For the purposes of Gommys' blog today....we will also refer to those people as Willows or Oaks.
When you think of a Willow Tree, you picture a beautiful and graceful tree that bends in the wind. It goes with the flow....so to speak. When you think of an Oak Tree, you picture a strong, rigid and mighty tree that no amount of wind can cause it to sway. But the problem with rigidity is that eventually, it can snap and break. Gommy has seen ginornous Oak trees actually snapped in half from the 'strongest' winds of a hurricane.
Now the Willow tree will bend and sway......it will actually bend all the way over and touch the ground....but when the wind ceases....it springs back up again in it's rightful position. It can still go on living. You can see how it is better to be able to bend than to stand too strong and be able to be snapped in half and cease being the big, strong and mighty one. We all have our Achilles heels of life. That one....or those two things that can cause us to crumble, tumble and fall from our safe little cocoon of 'Life'.
As my new friend and I further discussed these Willow/Oak types of folks, we exchanged some of our own perspectives on different people and situations that we personally knew who exemplified these personalities. In our exchange of ideas and viewpoints, my new friend pointed out that....." the black or white people do seem to often find themselves in stressful situations because of their Blk/Wh views. But I have observed that what often seems to happen is that they will eventually present themselves experiences that they cannot ignore, or dismiss, or walk away from. And these experiences fracture and/or stretch their tight little Blk/Wh viewpoint. And they begin to soften, and be open to other things." WOW....how true is that peeps?
As referenced above, Gommy knows, first hand, that this is true. There is a family Gommy can think of in particular, who consider themselves to be the very epitome of Christians. But if you look closely at their inability to forgive others or listen to the times they talk about other people, or notice their prejudices......you will see they are only fooling themselves. There have been developments in their lives that have caused them to reflect on what they now view as acceptable. Then there is another friend who had a child out of wedlock and is also of another race. The grandparents have had to come to terms with their old prejudices and now love this grandchild.....no matter what race it is. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is promising that the children escaped the usual handed down beliefs of the parents. How could those parents not love their children and the grandchildren that came from those unions? They cannot! That is the 'lesson'.
Gommy wants to FESS-UP....right here and right now that there have been times that 'lessons' had to be learned the hard way for Goms too. But after realizing that 'it is what it is'....and we can all make mistakes......and our path may not be the path that is right for everyone......Gommy did find that admitting being wrong wasn't the end of the world. It was just the end of a misunderstanding....or the end of a 'no win' situation and the reality that everyone is not at the same juncture of our journey on this earth experience.
The point that Gommy is trying to make is that the universe has a way of jarring our beliefs at times. It is the mirror being held up in front of you and you have to admit that you were wrong. And when your own children are the ones that are doing the very same thing you have always 'preached' against...it somehow causes the person to have to soften their beliefs on that subject...either change (or modify your beliefs) or rebuke and turn their back on their own children. It is the best possible 'tool' that the universe could use...because unless you are so stubborn that you won't change your stance on the situation....you will soften and bend because of the love that you have for your children. It this sense..... it is absolutely true that 'Love Conquers All." Somehow....a little 'light' is shed on the situation and little by little we are shown that it isn't all Black or White or Willow or Oak after all. If it had been someone elses' children...the stubborn one could have kept on with their 'bad attitude' way of thinking.....but when it is our own children involved.....we cannot resist protecting them ....even if it means WE have to do the changing in our way of acceptance. That little 'crack' will allow for more acceptance and tolerance to ooze through.....if we let it. If we 'learn the lesson' we were supposed to learn.
So.....try to be a little less rigid in the way you see things. There may come a time where you are forced to change the way you feel about something. And that is not a bad thing. It is growth.....a growth toward going with the flow.....live and let live....minding your own business.....playing nice with others.....you can do it....Gommy is pulling for you. Hugs & Mush everyone.
During our conversations.....the topic came up of how people are so different in their beliefs, biases, outlooks, mode of living, etc. We eventually got around to talking about those people who are very Black OR White. There is no gray in their way of living or thinking. For the purposes of Gommys' blog today....we will also refer to those people as Willows or Oaks.
When you think of a Willow Tree, you picture a beautiful and graceful tree that bends in the wind. It goes with the flow....so to speak. When you think of an Oak Tree, you picture a strong, rigid and mighty tree that no amount of wind can cause it to sway. But the problem with rigidity is that eventually, it can snap and break. Gommy has seen ginornous Oak trees actually snapped in half from the 'strongest' winds of a hurricane.
Now the Willow tree will bend and sway......it will actually bend all the way over and touch the ground....but when the wind ceases....it springs back up again in it's rightful position. It can still go on living. You can see how it is better to be able to bend than to stand too strong and be able to be snapped in half and cease being the big, strong and mighty one. We all have our Achilles heels of life. That one....or those two things that can cause us to crumble, tumble and fall from our safe little cocoon of 'Life'.
As my new friend and I further discussed these Willow/Oak types of folks, we exchanged some of our own perspectives on different people and situations that we personally knew who exemplified these personalities. In our exchange of ideas and viewpoints, my new friend pointed out that....." the black or white people do seem to often find themselves in stressful situations because of their Blk/Wh views. But I have observed that what often seems to happen is that they will eventually present themselves experiences that they cannot ignore, or dismiss, or walk away from. And these experiences fracture and/or stretch their tight little Blk/Wh viewpoint. And they begin to soften, and be open to other things." WOW....how true is that peeps?
As referenced above, Gommy knows, first hand, that this is true. There is a family Gommy can think of in particular, who consider themselves to be the very epitome of Christians. But if you look closely at their inability to forgive others or listen to the times they talk about other people, or notice their prejudices......you will see they are only fooling themselves. There have been developments in their lives that have caused them to reflect on what they now view as acceptable. Then there is another friend who had a child out of wedlock and is also of another race. The grandparents have had to come to terms with their old prejudices and now love this grandchild.....no matter what race it is. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is promising that the children escaped the usual handed down beliefs of the parents. How could those parents not love their children and the grandchildren that came from those unions? They cannot! That is the 'lesson'.
Gommy wants to FESS-UP....right here and right now that there have been times that 'lessons' had to be learned the hard way for Goms too. But after realizing that 'it is what it is'....and we can all make mistakes......and our path may not be the path that is right for everyone......Gommy did find that admitting being wrong wasn't the end of the world. It was just the end of a misunderstanding....or the end of a 'no win' situation and the reality that everyone is not at the same juncture of our journey on this earth experience.
The point that Gommy is trying to make is that the universe has a way of jarring our beliefs at times. It is the mirror being held up in front of you and you have to admit that you were wrong. And when your own children are the ones that are doing the very same thing you have always 'preached' against...it somehow causes the person to have to soften their beliefs on that subject...either change (or modify your beliefs) or rebuke and turn their back on their own children. It is the best possible 'tool' that the universe could use...because unless you are so stubborn that you won't change your stance on the situation....you will soften and bend because of the love that you have for your children. It this sense..... it is absolutely true that 'Love Conquers All." Somehow....a little 'light' is shed on the situation and little by little we are shown that it isn't all Black or White or Willow or Oak after all. If it had been someone elses' children...the stubborn one could have kept on with their 'bad attitude' way of thinking.....but when it is our own children involved.....we cannot resist protecting them ....even if it means WE have to do the changing in our way of acceptance. That little 'crack' will allow for more acceptance and tolerance to ooze through.....if we let it. If we 'learn the lesson' we were supposed to learn.
So.....try to be a little less rigid in the way you see things. There may come a time where you are forced to change the way you feel about something. And that is not a bad thing. It is growth.....a growth toward going with the flow.....live and let live....minding your own business.....playing nice with others.....you can do it....Gommy is pulling for you. Hugs & Mush everyone.
Friday, August 20, 2010
WAKE UP!!!!
Hello boys and girls. Today is Friday and the end of another work week for many. Have you ever noticed how you get ready for work every day and you do the routine (habits) the same way, every day, while you are getting ready, i.e. turn off the alarm, go to the bathroom, take a shower, dress.....somewhere in there you may have made yourself a cup of coffee or a cup of tea.....had a bowl of cereal.....made some toast? Then you drove your car.....or you caught the bus, subway, train.....or whatever means of transportation you use. When you get to work, you start your day at the office/construction site/company and work until it's lunch, then back to whatever you do until it is time to go back home and do what you do until it's time to go bed and sleep and then you get up and do it all over again.
These habits are much like our behaviors and our beliefs. We 'learn' them or believe them by doing them over and over again and they become our patterns. We expect what will happen, as well as we believe what we have been told over and over again. Sometimes, we find that our patterns aren't working out very well for us and we find that we are in a 'rut' or we are feeling unfulfilled or we are just spinning our wheels.
But we can change our patterns/habits/beliefs. I like to think of the analogy of a mouse in a maze. After much conditioning and having it pointed out to the mouse that there is a piece of cheese at the end of the maze.....the mouse will turn left, then right, then left.....left....right...or whatever pattern he has come to believe will get him to the cheese. And he will do it every time.... because he has done it over and over and it is now a habit or a belief that the cheese is indeed there at the end of the maze. But what if you put the mouse in a 'cheese maze'? The WHOLE maze is now made up of a giant wheel of cheese. Guess what? The mouse will not even realize the maze is made of cheese and will still go left, right, left....left....right...etc. until he gets his 'usual piece of cheese.' He could actually have had the whole wheel of cheese that was just disguised as a maze! A-MAZE-ing right?
That is how many of us go through life. We just live life out of the habits, patterns and beliefs we have come to be comfortable with.....thinking it is the best way because it is how we have always done it. We have witnessed the same outcome every time. Without even realizing that there may be another way or a better way or an easier way right under our noses.
We look to change our conditioned beliefs when they no longer work for our good. When we feel our way of doing things isn't working for us any longer. When we are not getting along with the people at work....or a family member.....or the way we are raising our children seems not to be having the desired outcome we had 'planned'. When the 'club' we have chosen to join (our friends or close relationships), feels like maybe we shouldn't have joined that particular organization. So, we begin to feel uneasy about our choices, and only then do we begin to look around for another path or ideal or for a different way out of the maze.
As an example.....maybe you are the kind of person who has to have the last word in every argument. But you find that lately you are having waaaay too many arguments and they are unresolved because you find you are unable to ever admit any wrongdoing on your part. How's that working for you? OK? Seriously????? Maybe you could try not having the last word the next time you are having an argument and agree that you may have had something to do with 'whatever'...... BAM.....you will not believe how the dynamic of the situation changes. There is a quiet peaceful 'death' of the toxic feelings between you and the other person.
Or how about you are the sort of person who feels they are doing their job extremely well and with the utmost of care and sincerity about your responsibilities? Then a co-worker tries to derail you by telling the boss an untruth about you. You quit your position because you just can't bear working there any longer, thinking that the boss believed the other co-worker. What if you just let the co-worker do their dirty work and lie about you and you just continue going about doing your best, as you always have? You are the better person for having let the co-worker be the one who will have to face their own Karma and you will not have taken anything away from yourself. Let sleeping 'dogs' lie. Or to frame it another way.....just let lying dogs sleep....tee, hee!
If you are finding yourself in the 'habit' of feeling unrest, unhappiness, or you are having feelings of being unfulfilled......look around for ways to 'get' to the end of the maze by an easier route. If you are unfulfilled.....there may be something right under your nose that you have not noticed.... that could ultimately end up being your Dharma (hearts' desire)......Or if you are unhappy with a family member or your spouse....try not giving unsolicited advice or stubbornly feel you have to have the last word every time. Ask yourself..."Do I want peace or do I want to be right all the time?"
So 'WAKE UP' peeps. Look around for another way out of your maze. Remember that 'Enlightenment' means to awaken. It isn't all woo-woo ethereal mumbo-jumbo. It just means to become aware of how your habits, routines, behaviors and beliefs are working for you at any given time. If they aren't working for you.........toss them out. It takes practice and patience. In Gommy's experience.....it took lots and lots of patience. You need to learn new ways to 'think and feel' about how you look at things. Because, as a wise person once said (Wayne Dyer) .....'when you change the way you look at things.....the things you look at change." Old habits are hard to break.....but the ones that are not doing you service any longer are just impeding you from enjoying life.....and we are all meant to be enjoying this wonderful journey called "Life".
When you start seeing the results of how situations, patterns, habits, beliefs and thoughts that are not serving you any longer can change.....and when looking at other ways to deal with them can actually resolve the trouble you are having in dealing with them.....you will be astonished at how you can start making things go the way YOU wish they could.
So....happy detours everyone. It can be fun to see just how well it works for you. Start small at first. Maybe with something that isn't 'the end of the world' important to you. Maybe you can just try not answering back one time on a little disagreement. Maybe the next time your daughter-in-law is doing something you disapprove of.....keep a lid on it. "Stifle Edith"...as Archie Bunker used to say. (Loved that man)! He said so many things we would all love to say but don't dare say! Or the next time your co-worker does something that annoys you.....try to ignore them and keep on doing your best. Or if your child is throwing a hissy-fit and your usual response is to give in when they are at the 'wailing wall'.....don't pay them any attention.....walk away. They'll get the hint eventually that their negative behavior isn't getting the usual 'reward' of your undivided attention. You can do it........Gommy is pulling for you. Have a great weekend boys and girls. Hugs & Mush....Gommy
These habits are much like our behaviors and our beliefs. We 'learn' them or believe them by doing them over and over again and they become our patterns. We expect what will happen, as well as we believe what we have been told over and over again. Sometimes, we find that our patterns aren't working out very well for us and we find that we are in a 'rut' or we are feeling unfulfilled or we are just spinning our wheels.
But we can change our patterns/habits/beliefs. I like to think of the analogy of a mouse in a maze. After much conditioning and having it pointed out to the mouse that there is a piece of cheese at the end of the maze.....the mouse will turn left, then right, then left.....left....right...or whatever pattern he has come to believe will get him to the cheese. And he will do it every time.... because he has done it over and over and it is now a habit or a belief that the cheese is indeed there at the end of the maze. But what if you put the mouse in a 'cheese maze'? The WHOLE maze is now made up of a giant wheel of cheese. Guess what? The mouse will not even realize the maze is made of cheese and will still go left, right, left....left....right...etc. until he gets his 'usual piece of cheese.' He could actually have had the whole wheel of cheese that was just disguised as a maze! A-MAZE-ing right?
That is how many of us go through life. We just live life out of the habits, patterns and beliefs we have come to be comfortable with.....thinking it is the best way because it is how we have always done it. We have witnessed the same outcome every time. Without even realizing that there may be another way or a better way or an easier way right under our noses.
We look to change our conditioned beliefs when they no longer work for our good. When we feel our way of doing things isn't working for us any longer. When we are not getting along with the people at work....or a family member.....or the way we are raising our children seems not to be having the desired outcome we had 'planned'. When the 'club' we have chosen to join (our friends or close relationships), feels like maybe we shouldn't have joined that particular organization. So, we begin to feel uneasy about our choices, and only then do we begin to look around for another path or ideal or for a different way out of the maze.
As an example.....maybe you are the kind of person who has to have the last word in every argument. But you find that lately you are having waaaay too many arguments and they are unresolved because you find you are unable to ever admit any wrongdoing on your part. How's that working for you? OK? Seriously????? Maybe you could try not having the last word the next time you are having an argument and agree that you may have had something to do with 'whatever'...... BAM.....you will not believe how the dynamic of the situation changes. There is a quiet peaceful 'death' of the toxic feelings between you and the other person.
Or how about you are the sort of person who feels they are doing their job extremely well and with the utmost of care and sincerity about your responsibilities? Then a co-worker tries to derail you by telling the boss an untruth about you. You quit your position because you just can't bear working there any longer, thinking that the boss believed the other co-worker. What if you just let the co-worker do their dirty work and lie about you and you just continue going about doing your best, as you always have? You are the better person for having let the co-worker be the one who will have to face their own Karma and you will not have taken anything away from yourself. Let sleeping 'dogs' lie. Or to frame it another way.....just let lying dogs sleep....tee, hee!
If you are finding yourself in the 'habit' of feeling unrest, unhappiness, or you are having feelings of being unfulfilled......look around for ways to 'get' to the end of the maze by an easier route. If you are unfulfilled.....there may be something right under your nose that you have not noticed.... that could ultimately end up being your Dharma (hearts' desire)......Or if you are unhappy with a family member or your spouse....try not giving unsolicited advice or stubbornly feel you have to have the last word every time. Ask yourself..."Do I want peace or do I want to be right all the time?"
So 'WAKE UP' peeps. Look around for another way out of your maze. Remember that 'Enlightenment' means to awaken. It isn't all woo-woo ethereal mumbo-jumbo. It just means to become aware of how your habits, routines, behaviors and beliefs are working for you at any given time. If they aren't working for you.........toss them out. It takes practice and patience. In Gommy's experience.....it took lots and lots of patience. You need to learn new ways to 'think and feel' about how you look at things. Because, as a wise person once said (Wayne Dyer) .....'when you change the way you look at things.....the things you look at change." Old habits are hard to break.....but the ones that are not doing you service any longer are just impeding you from enjoying life.....and we are all meant to be enjoying this wonderful journey called "Life".
When you start seeing the results of how situations, patterns, habits, beliefs and thoughts that are not serving you any longer can change.....and when looking at other ways to deal with them can actually resolve the trouble you are having in dealing with them.....you will be astonished at how you can start making things go the way YOU wish they could.
So....happy detours everyone. It can be fun to see just how well it works for you. Start small at first. Maybe with something that isn't 'the end of the world' important to you. Maybe you can just try not answering back one time on a little disagreement. Maybe the next time your daughter-in-law is doing something you disapprove of.....keep a lid on it. "Stifle Edith"...as Archie Bunker used to say. (Loved that man)! He said so many things we would all love to say but don't dare say! Or the next time your co-worker does something that annoys you.....try to ignore them and keep on doing your best. Or if your child is throwing a hissy-fit and your usual response is to give in when they are at the 'wailing wall'.....don't pay them any attention.....walk away. They'll get the hint eventually that their negative behavior isn't getting the usual 'reward' of your undivided attention. You can do it........Gommy is pulling for you. Have a great weekend boys and girls. Hugs & Mush....Gommy
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