No Matter What.
At least that's what the doc said who wrote the book!
I've been reading this book on and off for a couple weeks. Because it isn't fiction or gripping material, I haven't just read through it like I do with other books.
In the foreward of the book, I highlighted three pieces that were important:
"Happiness is not the end of the road; it's the beginning. Contentment enhances our spiritual life."
"...life is not your enemy, but your thinking can be."
"We have a choice. We can learn to flow with life, with loving and patient acceptance, or we can struggle against it."
Richard Carlson, PhD, wrote those - and he's written many more in this book that have made me realize that I can't change or be upset about anything that isn't currently happening to me at a specific moment. For example, I may see a commercial on tv that gets me thinking about the economy and the effects of people losing their job, which in turn makes me think about my dad, who literally just lost his job. I can make the choice to get upset at the economy, my dad's boss, the car companies who took their advertising out of my dad's company, etc. But can I really change any of that from happening? Can I make any of it better? No. I have to learn to think about what it is I can change, what it is I can do, and learn to be happy because all I'm doing when I get upset is think about things that I have no control over.
It's tough.
Did I want to scream at the world and do the "Why Me's? for my dad? Sure. Did I want to ask him a lot of questions to make sure he would be ok with my mom and no income? Sure. But can I change any of that? Am I in a position to help them financially, if needed? No. But if they asked, I sure would try; however, I know they wouldn't ask.
"...negative thoughts - thoughts that cause distress and unhappiness - aren't worth dwelling on because they take away what we are looking for, a feeling of happiness." (p. 21-22)
My All Good Things for today: waking up in a warm place, excited for the day ahead.
