“What is required for many of us, paradoxical though it may sound, is the courage to tolerate happiness without self-sabotage.” ― Nathaniel Branden, Six Pillars of Self-Esteem
Dumb Questions of the Day: Have you ever been upset? Have you ever rehearsed or re-re-re-re-rehearsed an argument in your mind? Have you ever thought about something you don’t like or don’t want? Have you ever thought, “Why do I do that shit!” If so, QUIT ATTACKING YOURSELF! A punishing mind is rewarded by its own recriminations. The part of us we claim is “good” is calling the other part, “bad.” We erroneously think that we kill the good in us if we quit attacking the “bad” part of ourselves. Like after nearing ones’ bottom in addictive behavior, one's last hope is to hate the hater, because if we hate the hate, it proves we still have something good and loving to hold onto. But until our hope dies, the addiction survives. It survives on the judgment we feed to it, much like the Good Wolf/Bad Wolf analogy.
If you continue to think about things you don’t like or want, you’ll get more of it. Your mind will eventually eat itself into a state of sickness; your spirit will puke the poison out, and give you a chance to eat something more healthy. But how many of us go back to the vomit and sniff it, savor it in anger, proving to ourselves how wrong it is? Some people relive a past injustice interminably. Like a dog returning to its vomit to lap it up dutifully, a person caught in the quagmire of resentment will reinvest in its excrement until they die.
You have heard that forgiveness serves the one who forgives. The offender might not deserve or even want forgiveness, but because we deserve peace, we forgive, notwithstanding the temperature of our hearts.
Clean up the poison & wreckage of your past, whether as an offender (forgive yourself) or as a victim; remove the stain if possible, and do it with a song of gratitude to your heart.
Poison serves a purpose, or it would not exist. Don’t misuse your lessons to attack yourself. One you acquire peace of mind, then pass it on. You can’t keep it if you don’t give it away. Repetition is the mother of all learning.
Don’t rest on your laurels.