Posted by ineta on Oct 4, 2010 in
love,
wisdom When we look at the mirror, what do we see? Do we see tiredness, sadness, wrinkles? Or do we see happiness, enthusiasm, smile? Do we see pain and struggles? Or do we see sparkling energy and love?
Now, let’s look at the outside world. What we notice first? How we relate to people? Do we see them struggling or being successful? Do we encounter sadness or happiness?
Usually, our inner state reflect our outside world. What we choose to concentrate on, that’s what we see. What we feel inside, that’s what we feel and see around us. That’s why it is so easy to feel empathy for people who are going or went through similar situations that we did. We can feel their pain or joy. Now, if somebody is going through entirely different experience that we never been through, we will not understand it; it will feel odd to us.
We are all conditioned by our past, good or bad and by what we know. We’ve been through ups and downs and sideways. We view our world through our past experiences, what is familiar to us. If we been through pain, we view our world through pain. We encounter people who are going through the same pain. Sometimes pain becomes anger, hatred and revenge. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We want the person who hurt us to be hurt. We want them to suffer the same way they made us suffer. Where does it get us, though? Like Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” It does not do anything good, except it causes more pain.
Now, if we would concentrate from a place of love and compassion, no matter of circumstances, the outcome would be completely different. We would start caring for each other. Instead of war, there would be peace. Instead of hatred, there would be love. One man can make a world of difference. Let that be us. Gandhi is one of many examples. He saw peace for India; he stood for his beliefs and by being himself, he reached seemingly unattainable.
So, how about instead of wrinkles, let’s see lines of wisdom. Instead of tiredness, let’s see rest. Instead of sadness, let’s consciously smile more. Instead of struggles, let’s imagine our dreams come true. Instead of pain, let’s fill our hearts with love. Love does conquer it all. If we change our outlook in life and see our world through new open possibilities, we will change our life for the better. Let’s reflect goodness from our hearts into the mirror of outside world and make a difference now.
Tags: anger, compassion, empathy, energy, enthusiasm, family, friends, Gandhi, happiness, health, inner state of mind, inspiration, joy, life, love, mirror concept, new beginnings, new possibilities, opinion, outside world, pain, past, people, personal, philosophy, photo, picture, post and photo by Ineta Mcparland, random thoughts, reflections, relationships, sadness, smile, struggles, thoughts, tiredness, wonderocity, wrinkles
All our lives somebody tries to confine us. “You cannot do this, you cannot do that,” “You are not good enough,” “You are not smart enough,” “You are not pretty enough.” Others try to mold us according to their own expectations and beliefs.
How do we react to that? Do we start to believe in it? Do we give in into the confinement? Do we try to fit into other people’s mold? Do we lose sense of who we really are by pleasing others? Do we lose our self-esteem in the process?
Or, do we become trouble-makers and stand our ground, and not let others to put us down and tell us what we can and cannot do? Do we keep a strong sense of who we are and do not let others to put handcuffs on us? We do as we please. We do not care what others think. If there is no way, do we find the way?
People who misbehave, stand for their beliefs and refuse to be confined most of the time are the winners. They not only stand their ground, but they make a big difference in other lives. Great examples are:
Rosa Parks in 1955 refused illegally to give her seat to a white person. It sparked a civil rights movement.
Gandhi, despite strong opposition, gained autonomy for India from Great Britain without violence.
Although it sounded ridiculous at the time, Walt Disney built the “happiest place on earth” in the middle of orange groves.
Ed Roberts, paralyzed from the neck down, instead of concentrating on his own pain, improved quality of life for the disabled, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and became director of the California State Department of Rehabilitation.
So, should we give in to other people’s confinement or should we be trouble-makers and stand our ground and make a difference not only in our lives, but in lives of others?
(Examples are taken from Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins)
Tags: Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within, beliefs, books, civil rights movement, confinement, disabled, Disney World, Ed Roberts, expectations, Gandhi, Great Britain, handcuffs, India, inspiration, life, making a difference, non-violence, opinion, paralysis, people, personal, philosophy, pleasing others, quality of life, reflections, relationships, Rosa Parks, self-confidence, self-esteem, stand ground, stories, strong sense, thoughts, trouble-makers, Walt Disney, winners, wonderocity
