Over the last several weeks I
have been taking time to read my own book, Moments. I started reading parts as a review. I imagined how a reader might experience
what I had written. I thought about
how they might come to a better understanding of some part of their lives,
perhaps finding a thought that became the key to free them from some
limitation. After several reading
sessions I decided to start at the beginning and read it through. I discovered that “speaking to myself”
through the pages strengthened my own resolve to focus on the positive elements
of my life.
Much of the book is drawn from
articles I have written through the years.
They were written as a way for me to work through some of my own
challenges, but with a thought that some insight may strike a resonant chord in
others as they read. I wanted to share
my own journey, dealing with disappointments and frustration, as well as the
successes and satisfaction of meeting some challenge. Sometimes all a person needs in order to begin to turn his/her
life around is an appropriate word, positive encouragement, and to know that
someone else facing similar challenges was able to work through them to a
successful conclusion.
I am still learning and still
growing. I find in my book reminders to
keep working on whatever challenges remain unresolved, and to rejoice in those
in which I have found success and satisfaction. I hope you, too, if you read the book, will also find a pathway
to your own sense of fulfillment.
Over the several years I have
written articles for this blog I have mentioned more than once how it seems we
often get to a point in our lives where we have finally resolved some
issue. Then it pops up again, perhaps
with a new face, or a new situation, but the same elements of stress,
discomfort and perhaps fear. What
brought this to my attention was the proverbial email from a friend that
included the following quote she had come across in a book she was reading.
"....even though you
get the monkey off your back, the circus never really leaves town."
I suppose finding these
“old issues” popping up now and again could be likened to an athletic coach
providing repeated situations to a team member so he/she could learn to react
in the most effective manner.
Certainly, there is much to be said for practicing in order to gain
better presentation of our efforts.
However, it is not simply practicing that “makes perfect.” So-called perfection requires practicing
properly, following certain steps designed to move you forward toward your best
results. For example, if you continue
to find yourself behind in payment of your bills, you may have practiced with
poor priorities in the use of your money.
If certain health conditions keep nagging at your sense of well-being,
you may not have changed your practice around your diet, exercise or proper
rest.
So even though we get “caught up”
on paying bills once in awhile, old habits of spending more than we earn shows
us the “circus never really leaves town.”
What this indicates is that we have not finished our work with whatever
the challenge may be that haunts us.
The temptation to fall back into unproductive thinking and behavior is
like visiting the circus again, with all its fakery and tricks for the gullible
spectators. To get the circus out of
town we need to consciously develop new ways of doing things. We need new ways of thinking. Most of all we need new habits geared toward
the practice of behaviors that replace unproductive ones.
Thomas M. Sterner, in the
introduction to his powerful book, The Practicing Mind,[1] states,
Of all the riches
available to us in life, self-discipline is surely one of, if not the
most valuable. All things worth
achieving can be accomplished with the power of self-discipline. With it we are masters of the energy we
expend in life. Without it we are
victims of our own unfocused and constantly changing efforts, desires and directions.
Mr. Sterner goes on in his book
to talk about the importance of practice. We all practice a variety of things every day. This is not just in regard to learning to
play an instrument, but touches everything we do. Each routine we develop in our day’s activities is a practice of
behavior. Soon the routine is done with
little or no thought. Our practice
builds habits and habits become the way we think, feel and act in response to
life. Changing from unproductive
practices requires discipline and patience.
A paradox of
life: The problem with patience and
discipline is that it requires both of them to develop each of them.[2]
How, then, do we build a
practicing mind in regard to correcting our actions, for example, in our
relationships? What can I do to get not
only the monkey off my back, but also send the circus packing? In making any change in our life, we have to
begin where we are. It is necessary to
recognize that how we interact with others is not producing the loving, joyful
connections we want to experience. When
we begin to notice how easily we criticize others, we have our first
recognition that we have developed a habit that is unproductive. Now, we can catch ourselves when such
criticism begins to well up in our thoughts.
The next step is to consciously speak well of others. If we are not at a point where we can speak
kindly about someone, at least we can be quiet and not hold in our thoughts the
negative criticism.
No matter what issues and
conditions continue to resurface in your life, change the way you think and
talk about them and you will change the kinds of experiences you have. Then you can finally wave happily as the
circus leaves town!
We all have our painful times,
whether physical pain or emotional pain.
We do our best to work through those times in order to return to a sense
of well-being and harmony. The natural
state of being is health of mind and body and harmony in our worldly
interactions. Like a well-tuned
instrument the melody of our lives sounds a true tone when we find ways to
believe in our true state of Being.
Discord and inharmony in our life and affairs temporarily express when
we lose our sense of centeredness in Spirit.
We are not always aware of the specifics of how we came to experience
pain, but regaining our belief in our natural state will begin the
process of healing.
Dealing with our own
pain is one thing. Dealing with the
pain and suffering of friends and those we love is yet another. We may feel helpless and impotent, not
knowing how to be of assistance. I have
a friend going through chemotherapy right now.
It’s a tough haul for her. What
I feel I can do is to assure her of my caring and support the spark of healing
life that I know is within her. My
daughter has dealt with several serious conditions over the years that have
been painful and that sap her energy. Fortunately, she has been brought up to
believe in her inner Spirit as a healing presence. I know that has strengthened her in many ways as she deals with
the conditions.
In our caring for others and
wanting to assist them in their healing we need to “keep the high watch.” For me this means seeing them as fully
functioning, perfectly whole in mind and body and in harmony with the world
around them and the people in it. Too
often we may feel caught up in sadness or fear about the conditions our friends
and loved ones face because of the names we have attributed to those
conditions. Naming a condition makes it appear even more powerful.
I remember years ago as a worker
in Silent Unity, the 24-hour prayer department of Unity in Lee’s Summit,
Missouri, when the Cancer Society started promotions highlighting the “seven danger
signals of cancer.” Once those
promotions aired on TV, Silent Unity was flooded with prayer requests from
people who feared they had one or more of those signs. This is just one example of how fear can
override our otherwise positive outlook on life.
We may never know the why we face
suffering. I do believe, however, that
whatever conditions may come our way our indomitable spirit urges us forward,
always toward life and wholeness. Each
step we take believing in that wholeness moves us closer to the full measure of
its expression in mind, body and affairs.
This is how I choose to view my friends and loved ones always, not
simply when they are in pain and suffering.
I support their faith in healing.
I encourage the innate healing urges within every cell of their
bodies. I believe, “Thy faith hath made
thee whole.” (Luke 9:22)
