Inspirational Short Story, Female Fantasy Art, Relaxing Music

I have a simple philosophy.

Fill what's empty.

Empty what's full.

And scratch where it itches.

-- Alice Roosevelt Longworth

All too often, we complicate our lives.

We can wonder and worry our way into confusion; obsession or preoccupation it's often called. "What if?" "Will he?" "Should I?" "What do you think?" We seldom stop trying to figure out what to do, where to do it, how to meet a challenge, until someone reminds us to "keep it simple."

What we each discover, again and again, is that the solution to any problem becomes apparent when we stop searching for it.

The guidance we need for handling any difficulty, great or small, can only come into focus when we remove the barriers to it, and the greatest barrier is our frantic effort to personally solve the problem.

We clutter our minds; we pray for an answer and yet don't become quiet enough, for long enough, to become aware of the direction to go, or the steps to take.

And they are always there.

Inherent in every problem or challenge is its solution. Our greatest lesson in life may be to keep it simple, to know that no problem stands in our way because no solution eludes a quiet, expectant mind.

No trumpets sound

when the important decisions of our life are made.

Destiny is made known silently.

-- Agnes DeMille

The day ahead offers us choices of many kinds - some big ones, many that will affect other persons close to us, a few that will have profound effects on our destiny.

But no choice, no decision we make, will be wrong.

A particular decision may lead us slightly astray. Down a dead-end path perhaps - but we can always turn back and choose again.

We are seldom aware of the gravity of a particular choice at the time of making it.

Only hindsight reveals the wisdom of an important choice.

Nevertheless, no choice is without importance in the overall picture of our lives.

And at the same time, no choice is all-powerful regarding our destiny.

We are offered chances again and again for making the right choices, the ones that will most contribute to the bigger plan for our lives.

Happiness is a by-product of an effort

to make someone else happy.

-- Gretta Brooker Palmer

We have striven for happiness, generally in self-centered ways. We expected others to favor us with their attention, for example. Or we waited for invitations or gifts.

We have probably tried to buy happiness with the purchase of a new dress or shoes. Fleeting moments of happiness were gained, that's all. And soon we were discontent once again.

And the search was begun anew.

But things have changed for some of us. We are learning, maybe slowly, how to find a more permanent happiness. And we know the happiness that comes from "getting" is elusive.

Giving to others, giving attention, sharing hope, sharing our own stories, listening to theirs, is the key to finding the happiness for which we've searched so long. We must get outside of ourselves and focus on another's joy or sorrow.

Only then do we get a clear perspective on who we are and the necessary role we play in the lives of others who need our attention and who have a message we also need to hear.

__________

12/20/2024

Dividers from Strawberry Sightings (dead link 02/07/2004)

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