Deeper...

"I am never upset for the reason I think."

- A Course in Miracles

What's really under our skin?... fear of not succeeding, not being able to provide, not being of value, not making a real contribution in our lives, not feeling appreciated?? .... etc... this is the tough stuff to identify, admit to, fix?... but if we could, what a weight we could lift... :) Hugs.

Blessings,

Chatgirl

The benefit of simmering ;)

"As a way of working with our aggressive tendencies... we allow ourselves to wait, to sit patiently with the urge to act or speak in our usual ways and feel the full force of that urge without giving in. Neither repressing nor rejecting, we stay in the middle between the two extremes, in the middle between yes and no, right and wrong, true and false. This is the journey of developing a kindhearted and courageous tolerance for our pain. Simmering is a way of gaining inner strength. It helps us develop trust in ourselves - trust that we can experience the edginess, the groundlessness, the fundamental uncertainty of life and work with our mind, without acting in ways that are harmful to ourselves or others."

- Pema Chodron, Living Beautifully

Temper tantrums feel damn good sometimes, but clearly not a great way to live in general... and the results most often suck! Lol ;)

Blessings,

Chatgirl

Adversity = advantage?

"Sports psychologists recently did a study of elite athletes who were struck with some adversity or serious injury. Initially, each reported feeling isolation, emotional disruption, and doubts about their athletic ability. Yet afterward, each reported gaining a desire to help others, additional perspective and realization of their own strengths. In other words, every fear and doubt they felt during the injury turned into greater abilities in those exact areas.... psychologists call it adversarial growth and post-traumatic growth."

Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way

Adversity is no joke and often comes with panic and a lot of anxiety... but when we survive and realize we like ourselves all the more for it - hell, it's pretty cool. xo

Blessings,

Chatgirl

Choices...

"Choose not to be harmed - and you won't feel harmed. Don't feel harmed - and you haven't been."

- Marcus Aurelius

I'm thinking this one may take practice ... and some deep breaths, or maybe counting to ten at times ;) Lol.  Hugs.

Blessings,

Chatgirl

Crying...

"Crying is not painful. It's not crying that is painful."

- James Anthony Ellis, Morning Musings (Amazon.com)

Even if it has to be in private, Lol ;) ... 'cause they say emotional repression leads to illness and we don't want that... Hugs.

Blessing,

Chatgirl

Work in progress...

"What a man needs is not courage but nerve control, cool headedness. This he can only get by practice."

-Theodore Roosevelt

We're a work in progress. It's all good:) Hugs

Blessings,

Chatgirl

Never satisfied

What is it about human nature that we're never satisfied. We're all familiar with "the grass is greener" phenomenon and we seem to face it a lot in life - be it with relationship, job, boss, friends, new home.... inevitably, there are things we don't like. The "new" wears off and we want something new again. Shopping is a legitimate addiction - the hit of something new that brings instant joy and satisfaction to our lives... until we spill our coffee on the new beautiful dress, or the dry cleaner ruins our new jacket... and so we need to go buy something new again... what gives and how do we deal with this??

Healing experts tell us that as long as we look "outside" of ourselves for that "hit" of joy, we'll never be truly fulfilled... because  "no matter where you go, there you are." We can move to a new, warmer city, fall deeply in love with that new "perfect" person, come into some fabulous financial security.... but as we all know, life continues to deal the glitches and set backs... and we'll always be left to contend with ourselves and our reactions to life's challenges. How do we contend with ourselves?.... there are a lot of options out there, but anything that takes us "inward" and allows us to acknowledge and follow our truth... so that our "inner" world is as calm and content as possible. Hugs.

Blessing,

Chatgirl