Making Peace With Chaos

One of the hardest things I have faced in
life is the anguish of watching someone
you care about go through pain, and know
that you are helpless to act.

No matter the reasons for distance
between us and someone we care for,
we never want to see them in pain. We
don't relish their spinning their wheels or
the understanding that they are the
architects of their own destruction.

Knowing that things have to play out until
ego is crushed and there is willingness to
see the lesson in their misery is not a
comfort when your friend is in real pain.

You hope they will remain aware that
they can turn to you--or others--if they get
to a point of hurting badly enough that they
choose to do so. You hope the pain of
trusting someone will not cloud the pain
they are experiencing by going it alone.

But ultimately, we have to love people
enough that we let them go through what
they have to. We also have to love ourselves
enough not to get taken down by the tornado
of misdirected anger and animosity that
often accompanies a hurting person.

Integrity is when all the parts of a person
are integrated as one; whole, truthful, complete.
We can't make someone desire that for
themselves. But hopefully, if they know how
much we care, they'll take advantage of
our love when push comes to shove.

May I always be considering how to improve
my compassion and openness to mend
fences. May my past mistakes be forgiven, even
as I have forgiven another's. Life is too short
to avoid reconciliation.

Namaste'

Prayer

Let me support no lies
to allow that evil will prosper....
Let me not speak truth
so that innocents will suffer....
Let me refuse revenge
so that I do not doom myself.

Let me know what my compatriot
has not yet learned;
silence is good,
and not to be feared.

Progress

THE TRUE SIGN OF INTELLECT,
CHARACTER, AND SPIRITUALITY
IS TO KNOW ONE'S CAPACITY
FOR BEING POWERFUL, BRUTAL,
AND IN CONTROL, AND YET
CHOOSE NOT TO ACT ON IT.

MAKING OTHERS WEAK DOES
NOT MAKE US STRONG.

PROMOTING AN ILLUSION
OF SUPERIORITY DOES NOT
LIFT US UP. THE VALUES OF THE
WORLD ARE NOT THE ANSWER.

I AM SUFFICIENT IN MYSELF;
I KNOW MYSELF AND SEE THE
INSANITY OF SOCIETY FOR
WHAT IT IS.



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Insight

IF WE CAN SEE THE ROLE
OUR OWN ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES
PLAY IN HOW THE WORLD AND PEOPLE
RESPOND TO US, EVERYTHING CHANGES.



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*******

CONFLICT AND CONFRONTATION
IS A CHOICE. IF WE FIND IT IN OUR
LIVES, WE MIGHT REVIEW OUR OWN
ROLES.

IF WE ARE THE SOURCE, WE LOOK
TO CHANGES WE CAN MAKE. IF WE
ARE INVOLVED WITH OR DRAWN TO
A SOURCE OF CONFLICT, WE CAN
AVOID THEM OR SEEK TO ACCEPT IT
WITHOUT RESPONDING IN KIND.

The Mirror

So often, it seems that the very thing
I find intolerable in another is a trait
or habit I am guilty of myself.

But I am blind to my being guilty.

I have another in my life, causing
'distress'  and discord, until I learn
the lesson I have before me; to
see how I am responsible for causing
these same distortions for others when
I act similarly.

Yet what I judge in others, I can
justify in myself. Only when I am
willing to admit that I am flawed,
rather than seeking to point out the
perceived faults of another, can
true change take place.

We are held up a mirror to ourselves
so that finally we can truly see.
Whether we are brave enough to
look unflinchingly is up to us.

Do we awaken fully, or roll over and
go back to sleep?

Law of Attraction....by Abraham

"I AM THAT WHICH
I AM, AND I AM WILLING
TO ALLOW ALL OTHERS
TO BE THAT WHICH THEY
ARE."


************************

+++

IF YOU FIND YOU'RE
ALWAYS AT ODDS
WITH HOW OTHERS
ARE SO 'INFERIOR'
OR 'IGNORANT,'
PERHAPS THE TRUE
TROUBLE IS BEING
CARRIED AROUND
INSIDE YOU.

***

A PERSON WHO ONLY
CONSIDERS THEIR
OWN OPINIONS IS
DESTINED TO SEE
LITTLE AND GROW
NONE.

"I AM A SURVIVOR OF BEING FIXED"

This poem was read by a speaker I recently heard
whom I really related to. She was kind enough to
send me a snail-mail copy of this poem, which she
read at the end of her speaking. The author is unknown
to us.

Enjoy.

*******************************************
I am a Survivor of Being 'Fixed.'

I AM;
          a unique expression of God,
          a whole person in charge of my self-esteem,
          a lovable and loving person,
          flawed and talented,
          the only authority on my life experiences,
          responsible for myself and to myself,
          highly resistant to being fixed,
          and very courageous, for I am seeking a new way.


I DO need;
         validation of all my feelings to find my identity,
         support for my recovery to find my ego boundaries,
         love, to provide courage and change,
         a Higher Power to trust my innermost self,
         mistakes to find reality, limitations, talents, and priorities,
         anger to process grief and old ideas, for energy, and honor,
         pain to teach me willingness, acceptance, and honesty,
         willingness, to let go of the old and risk the new,
         acceptance, to find peace,
         honesty, that I can be myself,
         fear, to teach me humility,
         humility, to gain my power,
         power, that I can be a channel for love,
         laughter, to find joy,
         joy, to find intimacy,
         fun, to find balance,
         open-mindedness, to grow and flourish... and to ask for help.

With HELP I can;
         feel all of my feelings,
         choose appropriate behavior,
         fulfill my bonding needs,
         structure my life,
         take myself lightly,
         accept life on its terms,
         find my place and belonging,
         allow God to give me direction and purpose,
         have a zest for living,
         feel alive!

No More Fixing

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