One day, I decided to try something new. I took my ten-year-old son out on the St. Croix River on a Waverunner.
We donned life jackets and embarked on an experience that turned out to be both exhilarating and frightening: exhilarating when I let myself enjoy it; frightening when I thought too much about what I was doing and all the terrible things that could happen.
Midway through our ride, my worst fear came true. We took a spill. We were floundering in thirty feet of water. The Waverunner was bobbing on the waves in front of me, like a motorized turtle on its back. "Don't panic," my son said calmly.
"What if we drown?" I objected.
"We can't," he said. "We have life jackets on. See! We're floating."
"The machine is upside down," I said. "How are we going to turn it over?"
"Just like the man said," my son answered. "The arrow points this way."
With an easy gesture, we turned the machine right-side up.
"What if we can't climb back on?" I asked.
"We can," my son replied. "That's what Waverunners were made for: climbing on in the water."
I relaxed and as we drove off, I wondered why I had become so frightened. I thought maybe it's because I don't trust my ability to solve problems. Maybe it's because once I almost drowned when I wasn't wearing a life jacket.
But you didn't drown then either, a small voice inside reassured me. You survived.
Don't panic. Problems were made to be solved. Life was made to be lived. Although sometimes we may be in over our heads-yes, we may even go under for a few moments and gulp a few mouthfuls of waer, we won't drown. We're wearing-and always have been wearing-a life jacket. That support jacket is called "God."
Today, I will remember to take care of myself. When I get in over my head, God is there supporting me-even when my fears try to make me forget.
--Melody Beattie
Thoughts held in mind reproduce after their kind, just as apple seeds, pear seeds and carrot seeds, if nurtured, give rise to the expression of themselves. Recognizing that the very nature of God is imbued in us, it only makes sense that we would nurture and give rise to God thoughts. Yet many of us spend far more time thinking about what could or did go wrong than we do manifesting our own divinity. What thoughts
might bring you closer to your own God-like nature?
Mary Manin Morrissey
Your life is valuable not for how it looks, but for what is happening in your heart and soul. If a relationship falls apart in the outer world, but you extract personal growth from it, you are succeeding in a far more meaningful way than one who amasses the symbols of success but fails to recognize his or her own inner worth. The only true measure of success, we eventually discover, is happiness.
Alan Cohen
Regardless of its configuration, the essence of what creates and sustains a healthy family is love.
Mary Manin Morrissey
If we have not peace within ourselves, it is vain to seek it from outside sources.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
What happens to you is not as important as what you make of it.
Alan Cohen
We donned life jackets and embarked on an experience that turned out to be both exhilarating and frightening: exhilarating when I let myself enjoy it; frightening when I thought too much about what I was doing and all the terrible things that could happen.
Midway through our ride, my worst fear came true. We took a spill. We were floundering in thirty feet of water. The Waverunner was bobbing on the waves in front of me, like a motorized turtle on its back. "Don't panic," my son said calmly.
"What if we drown?" I objected.
"We can't," he said. "We have life jackets on. See! We're floating."
"The machine is upside down," I said. "How are we going to turn it over?"
"Just like the man said," my son answered. "The arrow points this way."
With an easy gesture, we turned the machine right-side up.
"What if we can't climb back on?" I asked.
"We can," my son replied. "That's what Waverunners were made for: climbing on in the water."
I relaxed and as we drove off, I wondered why I had become so frightened. I thought maybe it's because I don't trust my ability to solve problems. Maybe it's because once I almost drowned when I wasn't wearing a life jacket.
But you didn't drown then either, a small voice inside reassured me. You survived.
Don't panic. Problems were made to be solved. Life was made to be lived. Although sometimes we may be in over our heads-yes, we may even go under for a few moments and gulp a few mouthfuls of waer, we won't drown. We're wearing-and always have been wearing-a life jacket. That support jacket is called "God."
Today, I will remember to take care of myself. When I get in over my head, God is there supporting me-even when my fears try to make me forget.
--Melody Beattie
Thoughts held in mind reproduce after their kind, just as apple seeds, pear seeds and carrot seeds, if nurtured, give rise to the expression of themselves. Recognizing that the very nature of God is imbued in us, it only makes sense that we would nurture and give rise to God thoughts. Yet many of us spend far more time thinking about what could or did go wrong than we do manifesting our own divinity. What thoughts
might bring you closer to your own God-like nature?
Mary Manin Morrissey
Your life is valuable not for how it looks, but for what is happening in your heart and soul. If a relationship falls apart in the outer world, but you extract personal growth from it, you are succeeding in a far more meaningful way than one who amasses the symbols of success but fails to recognize his or her own inner worth. The only true measure of success, we eventually discover, is happiness.
Alan Cohen
Regardless of its configuration, the essence of what creates and sustains a healthy family is love.
Mary Manin Morrissey
If we have not peace within ourselves, it is vain to seek it from outside sources.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld
What happens to you is not as important as what you make of it.
Alan Cohen
Trust the messages your feelings are giving you as feedback on how well your current choice matches your well-being. Living from joy is like building a muscle; the more you trust and act on your intuition, the louder, stronger, and more real it becomes. If you don't live from your truth, your ability to access it will atrophy, and you will not know who you are, what you want, or what you are doing here. Live from the truth and you will be set free.
Alan Cohen
Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained.
Lao-Tzu
Lao-Tzu
When they think that they know the answers, people are difficult to guide. When they know that they don't know, People can find their own way.
Tao Te Ching
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