#724

"You alone are the judge of your worth and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks."

Deepak Chopra

We all have 'stuff' to overcome, everyone has their own 'dragons' to slay and 'armies' to defeat. Often when engaged in our battles, we can accumulate feelings of unworthiness, and this, then, becomes the battle. Many of life's experiences, as well as the people you surround yourself with, can contribute to these feelings. Eventually, you may question your own worth.

Your worth never changes. Whether you are 'sitting on top of the world', or 'down in the dumps', you are always valuable. You may not feel the same, but this doesn't change the fact. 

If you have a $100.00 bill, it is worth - $100.00. If you take that same bill and crumple it up and throw it to the ground, step on it, and grind it into the dirt, it is still worth $100.00 The same is true for you, if you have been thrown down, stepped on and feel crumpled and dirty, you still have the same value. You are of infinite worth.

Your worth does not change according to what happens to you.

Don't worry about what anyone else says, that is their issue. The mere fact that you are here on earth proves that you are valuable. You have a mission and only YOU can complete it. You are important, remember that. You know who you are.

"Above all else, to thine own self be true." Shakespeare
reprint of #540

#723
Hate is self-inflicted torture,
It hungers for revenge,
damage, division, and
violence, but it is never satiated.
Hate is a psychological hell to
which we condemn ourselves
and endeavor to burn others.
--Steve Maraboli

Hate is defined as an intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury. 

We are the creators of our emotions and fully responsible for how we feel and how we react. 

Most people will take a look at things when they find themselves severely reacting to a situation. They question their current emotional state and endeavor to identify what button was pushed so they can work on it. They want to know what caused them to react in an unacceptable manner. These people are accepting responsibility for their emotions.

On the other hand, there are people that have no interest whatsoever in figuring out why they do anything. They react however the spirit moves them, with absolutely no regard for others. They have no concern about how they are perceived and will always find someone else to blame. They think they are entitled to take out their rage on whoever is in their path. The pent-up anger appears to be too great to control.

Hate is unfamiliar emotion for most.... there may be something that makes you angry or upsets you, but to retaliate with hate is not normally the go-to response. If someone has feelings of such intensity, looking for revenge for any real or imagined snub seems a difficult way to live a life. Taking ownership and responsibility for yourself, and your emotions is the first step, don't let the anger fester until it manifests into illness. Give yourself some peace. 

You can choose to free yourself from anything.
reprint of #591

#722 It's Time for this one again.

"Every single day, we need to choose hope over fear, diversity over division. 

Fear has never created a single job or fed a single family.

And those who exploit it will never solve the problems that have created such anxiety."

Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau

Every single day.... anyone that has lived in a position of fear, real or imagined, realizes how disruptive and stressful it can be. Fear has held back many people from any joy, happiness or adventure. It is an insidious, potential robbing, life-sucking force that can stop you in your tracks. Those that exploit or promote fear are cowards merely feeding their egos. You don't have to be involved, move past it, don't believe everything you hear or see. Listen to your inner voice and know that you are okay. Living in fear is not living at all. 

Fear has no real power, don't give it any. 

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.” ― John Lennon

“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free." Jim Morrison 

reprint of #612

#721

You either get bitter or you get better. It's that simple. 

You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down.

The choice does not belong to fate.

It belongs to you.

Josh Shipp

So... your worst case scenario has actually happened. The one thing you have spent your life making sure would never happen to you.... happened. NOW WHAT?  You have always been hyper-vigilant in your quest to keep this particular scenario at bay, not once did you think of how you would handle it if it DID happen. It was always just the fear and dread of it happening that took precedence.  It doesn't really matter, you can't prepare for something as devastating as your worst-case scenario. You don't know how you will react until it happens. 

As always there is a reason why these things happen, this is a message - you need to take a look at your life - something needs to be re-examined. You now have the opportunity to take a look at your beliefs and actions to see what needs some fine tuning.  

The key word here is 'happened', it has already taken place, you can't change it. In fact, it probably happened because you worried about it so intently. What you think about you create. You will find that it is a relief now that it has actually happened, you can stop worrying about it. You manifested this for your own growth. There is no room here for bitterness, or self-recrimination, no one is out to 'get you' - quite the opposite, this is to help you become a better person and believe me, you will. 

Your worst-case scenario is a blessing in disguise 

reprint of #428

#720

Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.

This simple statement really hit home for me today. It's one of those things that you know, probably figured someone else should know, but just never really thought about it. Of course, you believe you are right if you are offended.

I find a lot of the expressions, the over -indulgence in explicit sexual language and/or interaction, violence, as well as the vulgar speech that is acceptable today, to be offensive.

Now, I suppose that a lot of it has to do with my age; and I do know that this is no longer the world of my youth, BUT.....

I am not a delicate little flower, nor (entirely), old school, I have laughed uproariously at many an off-colour joke, but somehow the foul mouths of some of the general population, showing no care or consideration for those within earshot, I find, disrespectful and rude. 

Why is this? WE knew how we were to talk when there were adults anywhere around. There was a special attempt to 'mind our manners' around the elderly, our parents, or any authority figure. Is it just that the modern world needs to express themselves and we were riddled with rules? Is it television, video games, movies? Is it the fact that more mothers are working (out of the home) mothers? Is it that children have rights pertaining to discipline? What has happened to respect and consideration for others?

I am not saying I'm right, but I am entitled to feel offended. I also realize that this is no longer MY world, it now belongs to the next generation, and they will make it what they want. Maybe the previous behaviours get voted off the island as each generation passes the torch, but acceptance, tolerance, and respect for others shouldn't be the first to go, should they? 

reprint of #484

#719

How something ends up NEVER depends on how much you worry about it.

Worry really does NOT contribute in any way to a beneficial finale. It's a waste of your time and energy fretting about the outcome. You can only do your best and then let it go.

In the first place, most of the things you worry about never happen. If you are living for today, in the here and now, there is nothing to worry about.

Worry is thinking of the future - anxiety from living in the past. 

In the second place, there are things you cannot change. For example, you cannot change weather systems: tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes, or wars and government activities. You cannot change what others are doing, that is up to them. There is nothing that you can do about it, they will do what they do, it is their journey. AND things that happened in the past have already taken place, you can't change them. As for the future, don't waste time worrying about it either, you are not there yet. 

You can always prepare yourself for any eventuality, but it ends there. You are responsible for your own well being but beyond that, you need to trust that you are okay. Worry doesn't change anything and gives you wrinkles.

Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere.

reprint of #251

#718

"Who sees all beings in his own self and his own self in all beings, loses all fear."
Upanishads

The Law of Divine Oneness - everything is connected to everything else. What we think, say, do and believe will have a corresponding effect on others and the universe around us.

There is a connectivity in all of us. From the wildlife to the trees, to the stars, everything IS us. We are all one.

What you do to others, you do to yourself. You affect the world just by being yourself. Any encounter you have makes a difference, and you are here to make that difference. It is not necessarily something you have planned, like helping at a soup kitchen, but ordinary everyday encounters, as well. It's how you treat everyone and everything. It all begins, of course, with how you treat yourself. If you love yourself, love for everything is the result.

If you truly love yourself, you could never hurt another - Buddha

"Remember, we are all affecting the world every moment, whether we mean to or not. Our actions and states of mind matter, because we're so deeply inner connected with one another. Working on our own consciousness is the most important thing that we are doing at any moment, and being love is the supreme creative act." 

-Ram Dass

reprint of #287