Live a Great Life Anyway …

How are you going to live a great life anyway?

One of the most important lessons we can learn in life is to stop arguing with things we cannot change. Being in the resistance of something that has already happened keeps us stuck in anger, resentment, upset and distress. When we find ourselves dwelling upon how this “should not have happened” … or … how bad things “always happen to me” – we are grounding ourselves in the muck.

The best question we can ask ourselves is this: “How am I going to live a great life, anyway?”

Our job is not to change the past. That is impossible. We cannot alter what has already happened. Our power lies in deciding how we are going to respond to the challenges, adversities, trials and tribulations that land upon our paths. We all get to decide HOW we will respond and WHAT we are going to do to make the best of the situation.

When we decide to stop arguing with the reality of things, we can get busy moving forward beyond them. All any of us need to do is to take the next best step. And, every step we take moves us toward something. If we keep looking back at what already transpired, we don’t move forward.

Once again, the most important and transformative question we can ever ask ourselves is “How am I going to live a great life anyway?” And then, take one teensy step in that direction. Or, you can continue lamenting and ruminating endlessly about what you wish hadn’t happened or how unfair it was or how unhappy you are about it. The choice is yours. You have the power to decide.

N.B. I am not suggesting that we deny, dismiss, disregard, suppress or repress grief and loss. We absolutely must honor our emotions and must make necessary time to process events and mourn circumstances. I am simply inviting us not to get stuck in that space. Acceptance of what we can’t change allows us to process our grief and acknowledge our losses and ultimately fosters the opportunity for us create our best lives … despite the things we wish hadn’t happened.

If you can’t change or undue it, how are you going to make the best of it? How are you going to live a great life anyway? Our lives change in the best of ways when we shape our days from that perspective.

With warmest intentions, Karen

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“When Life Gets Tough, What Spills Out” …?

Source Unknown but deeply appreciated!

Hmmmm … isn’t THAT a humbling question?  When life gets tough, what spills out of you?

And, although my ”spillage is much less toxic than it used to be … and … much less frequent that it used to be, there are still times when I am not proud of what is spilling out of me.  Gah.

Tavelling?  Nothing like an airport and public transportation to invite a spill or two.

Workplace issues?  Yep. Certainly cause for a spill or two.

Wounded people?  Yep.  Hurt people cause spillage of global proportions.

Social Injustice? For sure.  Lots of spilling.

Family Breakdown? Perhaps the spilly-est place on the planet.

Yes.  There are many invitations for us to spill.  And, when we do, let’s take notice of what comes out of us.  It can be such a great reminder of where in our inner worlds we still have some work to do.

May we all become more aware and conscious of whether our spillage is contributing our contaminating our surroundings, Karen

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Something will grow from all you are going through … will it be you?

Source Unknown

Source Unknown

 

Maybe.  Maybe not.

There is no guarantee.

Growth is a choice.

It is up to each one of us to determine how we will respond to all the prickly and undesirable things life throws at us.

We can allow our adversities to shape us into stronger and wiser human beings.

We can allow our adversities to limit us  … to shape us into victims of life’s misfortunes.

And yet, even when we have been victimized … we don’t have to remain victims.

The choice is always ours.

Victim … or … Victor.

Something will grow from all you are going through … will it be you?

I’m sure hoping so … Karen

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No Mud. No Lotus.

No mud No lotus

“The lotus is the most beautiful flower, whose petals open one by one. 

But it will only grow in mud.

In order to grow and gain wisdom, first you must have the mud ~ the obstacles of life and its suffering.

The mud speaks of the common ground that humans share, no matter what our stations in life.

Whether we have it all or we have nothing, we are all faced with the same obstacles: sadness, loss, illness, dying and death.

If we are to strive as human beings to gain more wisdom, more kindness and more compassion, we must have the intention to grow as a lotus and open each petal one by one.” 

(Goldie Hawn)

 

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Are you cultivating a pearl … or … cursing the pain?

pearl in shell

It’s a choice … we can choose to make the most of the mess, to turn the grit into gold … to be better not bitter.  But it is a choice.

May we all find ourselves growing glossier not despite our experiences, but because of them, Karen

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Yes, but our eyes may need time to adjust …

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And … sometimes, before we do that, we need to sit in the dark for a while … giving our eyes time to adjust.

With heartfelt compassion for those times when our tender hearts are aching deeply, Karen

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