· Indian Proverb
Grit or Grace? New Strategies for Living Well
The grit of life is hard to swallow. You make a presentation at the office and someone points out a small mistake. The traffic was terrible that morning and you were late to an important appointment. You rehearsed exactly what you wanted to say to your boss, but when the time came the mind went blank.
In each situation what was your internal response? Self blame? Shame? Fear? Each instance of self-judgment is hard to stomach and quickly creates added stress. What is your gut response to the following common limiting beliefs?
Five Self-blaming Beliefs:
Five Self-blaming Beliefs:
Take a few minutes and trace any tightness back to its origination. Now, rewrite a new, self-empowering belief; take a nice deep breath and repeat the belief several times. Here are a few examples of shifting from shame/blame to acceptance and support.
Patience, compassion, acceptance and self-love settles the mind and expands the heart. Full of grace the body relaxes and peace is present. Grace is the balm of the soul. Choosing to live under grace rather than grit creates an abundance of simple blessings.
Ten Blessings of Grace:
Challenge yourself to live one week with the blessings of grace. Note any changes in your attitude and over-all anxiety. Pay attention to any surprise glimpses of joy. Watch the tiny shifts in your behavior ripple out and touch your work environment and home life. Challenge yourself to one more week of grace, and reap the bounty of your loving choice.
|
About the Author
|
· Euripides
Harmony is not found in a single note
"Light and darkness," said Zoroaster, "are the world's eternal ways." Opposites are not necessarily antagonistic, especially where each has laudable attributes. It is in the balance of such things as Faith and Reason, or Justice and Mercy, that wholeness is to be found.
In the symbology of Solomon's Temple, the two huge bronze columns (called Yakayin and Bahaz) that supported the entrance signified strength and establishment. One implies the generative energy of wisdom and stability while the other promotes understanding, creative change and a capacity to produce. For the two columns to uphold the Temple entrance, they must remain separated and be parallel to one another. While neither has a permanent mastery over the other, there is balance and harmony. When they cease to be in equilibrium, first the weakened one collapses, then the stronger column, no longer supported by resistance, follows the rush into ruin.
With the agency of mankind's free will, each individual is given an opposition of choices, such as to do even what is most unjust and unwise, or to temper one's actions based upon strict moral sense. Each, without the other, might result in tyranny and oppression. These two find their balance in the concept of Beneficence, an application of both stability and creativity to achieve the best result. Likewise, the conduct of my life requires that I temper Justice and Mercy with Equity, that my Faith and Reason are reconciled to one another. Giving either Justice or Mercy or Faith or Reason the lone upper hand would lead to excess and eventual failure. Balancing Mercy and Justice with Equity, or reconciling Faith and Reason with Understanding, can bring success to any situation.
In the same way, a sound that is composed of a single note is not at all remarkable. Adding a second note separated by 5 units produces an open, unresolved sound. The inclusion of a third tone in the midst of the two, separated by three units in each direction, fills out the sound, and such a chord becomes most agreeable to the ear. It is easy to conclude that in most situations, there are not only two choices, but a third, more refined choice: one which places both the Darkness and the Light into balance with one another.
There's a Zen Proverb that goes, "Before enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water. After enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water." The personal path to enlightenment is a continuing process of enlightenment, not the least part of which is carrying on with the daily activities of life. Wayne Dyer suggests, "Enlightenment has very little to do with your daily activities, and quite a lot to do with how you view those activities. You are still going to chop wood and carry water in some fashion, only the awakened person is no longer going to curse the wood and the water, or even his own lot in life. Whatever you are doing now can become a labor of love if you are willing to make it that way."
Living life should be a labor of love. It is necessary to find the balance in life by viewing life's experiences in a different way, to discover an equitable manner to solve a problem, or the best and most beneficent way to act upon an opportunity. I am ultimately responsible for finding harmony in my life. Balance is not to be found in this choice or that, but in the best attributes of both.
Darkness and Light are always going to be the stuff of the World. Without one, there would be no use for the other. An enlightened life is found in an harmonious compromise of the best of both.
Peace and Light, Michael
email: Michael@N-Spire.com - or,
send your 
to me right now!
