· On deadpan comedian Buster Keaton, “Comedy’s Greatest Era” reprinted in Life, Fall 1986
Do You Have a Solid Foundation?
My husband was contacted recently from a client of his who had fallen on hard times. The man hurt his back, and was forced to go on disability because he is unable to do his job anymore. A week after this happened his wife lost her job. Depressed and very angry, he called my husband to tell his tale, to complain and look for sympathy. He didn’t get much from us.
The true test of a person is not how they act when times are good. It is very easy to be happy, generous and have a positive outlook when everything is great. If people create a solid foundation when times are good, it is going to make things a lot easier when times aren’t so good. Hard times magnify a person’s true nature.
If you have developed a solid spiritual foundation for yourself when your life is going great, it is going to carry you through tough times. How you perceive negative occurrences, the perspective you look at them from, determines how quickly you can overcome adversity. These perspectives are developed over time. It is too late to work on this when the bad times hit; the time to build the foundation is when everything is going great in your life. Chances are, when you are surrounded by adversity, you won’t have the energy or the will to start from scratch on this.
Life is a series of individual moments, weaving together as events. You have total control over how you perceive them. If you are in the habit of seeing the good, this will carry you through hard times. Unfortunately we never really know what tomorrow will bring. The time to begin is now.
by Sibyl McLendon - About the Author Sibyl McLendon, a Navajo woman living in the American Southwest, is a personal empowerment coach for Circle Of Grace. Read more of this remarkable life coach's
writing in her new book, The Garden Of
The Free Spirit! If you are interested in starting the coaching process with Sybil, you are welcome to request a free, complimentary
session to see if Circle Of Grace is right for you.
· Luke 21:19, (KJV)
Courage, Determination, Stamina, but above all - Patience!
With patience, I may yet conquer my most difficult problems. Some of my plans didn't evolve quite the way I planned them. Some battles I have fought were fruitless and harmful. Generally, it was my dependence upon my own abilities, my own thinking and my own understanding that led to the difficulty. I might not have been patient enough to listen to my inner guide, or to take the time to solicit help through prayer. With patience, I can be victorious.
With patience, I may yet endure the weightiest of difficulties. In spite of my own efforts in opposition, Spirit patiently waits to teach the lesson to be learned, then gently propels me toward the Path that goes onward and upward. The darkest of times only require from me enough patience to see the sun rise upon a new day, pregnant with new opportunities and hope. With patience, I can be strong.
With patience, I may yet be forbearing to those that understand not what they do. In the hurry of living life, I occasionally forget that others are hurrying too. There are others upon their Path, struggling, hurting, sometimes lashing out in fear - fearful because of a loss of companionship, a loss of self-esteem, a loss of health or property. If I want people to cut me some slack while things are a bit fuzzy in my life, I should expect no less than that from myself toward others. With patience, I can be kind.
With patience, I may yet learn to love properly. Not only others, but myself as well. Frustration with my missteps, discouragement that can accompany outcomes, experience hard-won through painful circumstances - all this and more, only meant to teach me lessons of love. All the turmoil I have been through should have been lesson enough, but if it isn't, that's okay. Time is with me, and awareness will come. With patience, I can know love.
With patience, I may yet learn to live with some portion of serenity. It only takes a conscious decision to quiet my mind and listen to Spirit and spiritual guidance. Unfortunately, It's voice is seldom as loud as my own thinking. It takes willingness and commitment to change how I listen if, indeed, I am to experience the serenity I deserve. Knowing that Spirit is there is the first lesson I need to understand for this new way of living. All I have to do is to stop, breathe deeply, and listen. With patience I can know peace.
With patience, I may yet learn to act at last with a spirit hitherto unknown to me. Thinking that I am absolutely right, and that people should do just what I want them to do makes me tense. What I won't admit, at times like that, is that my ego has caused the tension, not their behavior. Letting go of people, of outcomes and specific plans isn't easy at first. But, why not respond to the world from the Spirit, the side of me that makes me peaceful? With patience, I can let go.
With patience, I am empowered. With patience, I am able to endure.
email: Michael@N-Spire.com - or,
send your 
Peace and Light, Michael
to me right now!
