I was so looking forward to focus on this truth. I have spent my entire life embracing all that is joyful. A happy person by nature, I have loved and sought moments filled with pure joy. What a wonderful gift to be able to give joy away.
Since my last entry I have had many wonderful joy-filled moments spent with friends and family. I have been fortunate to be able to bask in the pure love and joy sent my way by my granddaughters and by the youngest of the students with whom I work. Young children seem to have that direct connection to the pure joy that radiates from love and contentment. It was this pure joy that I wanted to recreate and to write about. And so, I waited.
I waited for the time I would return to that childlike joy that flows so freely from children...the joy that brings me eagerly to my job each day. I thought that once I had an entire day filled with my own free flowing joy, then and only then, would I have the needed ingredients to write my thoughts. But, the day didn't come. I'm not saying that my days were filled with sadness, it is just that something each day reminded me that I had not achieved what I was striving to achieve. And so, I didn't write. I couldn't write about having peace and joy to give away when I did not even have it for myself.
Once I realized that this was a difficult truth for me, I went into a reflection mode, analyzing, praying, meditating, observing, and yes, even judging. I judged myself for being too bold, or not bold enough. I judged my feelings and my emotions. I observed my humanness in full bloom and I didn't like it. I tried to pray and mediate myself into peace and contentment. And, then, finally the awareness came. I realized that I had been chasing the wrong things. I was chasing perfection, not acceptance. It is acceptance that brings contentment. It is acceptance that children have until we, their outside support, judge their actions, and by so doing, cause them to believe in imperfections.
Yes, the greatest gift we can give another is to find joy and contentment within our own souls. I now know, however, that it is not perfection that brings us to that joy and contentment; it is the acceptance of my, as well as others' humanness.
I am a human, seeking to become more spiritual. When I learn to deal with my mistakes and to release them without judgment, then, I will become more childlike and be able to give that total joy and contentment that young children so freely give. When I stop judging my perceived imperfections, then I will be able to freely offer to others true joy and contentment. I think I'm getting it!
The next spiritual truth is: All events are positive, even if at first only the sorrow of the situation is apparent. Hmmm, I have to trust that what lies ahead is grand.
Love, peace, and joy,
Linda
Since my last entry I have had many wonderful joy-filled moments spent with friends and family. I have been fortunate to be able to bask in the pure love and joy sent my way by my granddaughters and by the youngest of the students with whom I work. Young children seem to have that direct connection to the pure joy that radiates from love and contentment. It was this pure joy that I wanted to recreate and to write about. And so, I waited.
I waited for the time I would return to that childlike joy that flows so freely from children...the joy that brings me eagerly to my job each day. I thought that once I had an entire day filled with my own free flowing joy, then and only then, would I have the needed ingredients to write my thoughts. But, the day didn't come. I'm not saying that my days were filled with sadness, it is just that something each day reminded me that I had not achieved what I was striving to achieve. And so, I didn't write. I couldn't write about having peace and joy to give away when I did not even have it for myself.
Once I realized that this was a difficult truth for me, I went into a reflection mode, analyzing, praying, meditating, observing, and yes, even judging. I judged myself for being too bold, or not bold enough. I judged my feelings and my emotions. I observed my humanness in full bloom and I didn't like it. I tried to pray and mediate myself into peace and contentment. And, then, finally the awareness came. I realized that I had been chasing the wrong things. I was chasing perfection, not acceptance. It is acceptance that brings contentment. It is acceptance that children have until we, their outside support, judge their actions, and by so doing, cause them to believe in imperfections.
Yes, the greatest gift we can give another is to find joy and contentment within our own souls. I now know, however, that it is not perfection that brings us to that joy and contentment; it is the acceptance of my, as well as others' humanness.
I am a human, seeking to become more spiritual. When I learn to deal with my mistakes and to release them without judgment, then, I will become more childlike and be able to give that total joy and contentment that young children so freely give. When I stop judging my perceived imperfections, then I will be able to freely offer to others true joy and contentment. I think I'm getting it!
The next spiritual truth is: All events are positive, even if at first only the sorrow of the situation is apparent. Hmmm, I have to trust that what lies ahead is grand.
Love, peace, and joy,
Linda