Thoughts

Imprisoned by your thoughts?

“Problems exist only in the human mind.”
-- Anthony de Mello

For most of us, there’s always a long ‘to do’ list. That’s a fact.
And it’s easy to feel victimized. ‘Poor me!’ That’s not a fact – that’s a choice.

Experiment with your life to explore how much your mind is your jailer. Simply let go of the ‘oh woe’ kinds of thoughts. Silence your mind. Be right here, right now. Decide what you will do now and do it, without buying in to the mind’s sob story. When one task is done, you can then choose another.

Allowing the mind to agonize about the size of the ‘to do’ list just makes us tired before we even get started. It doesn’t have to be this way.

“Don't water your weeds.”
-- Harvey Mackay

I so needed to hear this today. I tend to get so caught up in the list of things I need to accomplish that I start planning the outcomes so I can get through the list on the time table that I have established. I have completely forgetten that when my relationship with my Higher Power is right than I am working on his "to do" list not mine. The things will be accomplished on his time table and the outcomes will be as he wishes them to be. When I allow my selfishness to take over all I am doing is building a "resentment" list instead of finishing a "to do" list. A resentment list and my decisions earned me a chair at the AA Table. My way makes my life unmanagable. Time to remember who is really in charge.......(thanks Mable for the reminder of where to look for the answer).

Sweet Surrender

Sweet Surrender

So we're ready to take on the world, at least to take the next step. That's when it hits. Or rather we hit it.

The wall.

Suddenly the path that looked so clear, so easy, so laid out in front of us disappears. Just a little glitch, we think. We take another run at it.

It's still there.

Must be me, we think. I'll try a little harder. Get this problem under control. We may mumble a few words to a Higher Power, something about needing help, but essentially we're praying for enough steam to ram into and run through that wall, sometimes chanting the mantra My will be done all the way.

I wish I could tell you there is a way to avoid this wall-banging, head-bumping vortex of chaos, but if there is, I haven't found it.

It's a dirty dust devil of self-will.

Hearing that we're powerless over people, places, and things (such as alcohol and other drugs) and intellectually understanding that concept is one thing. Experiencing powerlessness is another.

I didn't surrender to my powerlessness over alcohol and drugs because I wanted to. I surrendered because I had to, because I was worn out, because I couldn't keep going anymore. I went down hard.

One morning, a friend called to see whether I had solved a problem I was struggling with. "Yup," I said. "I told God last night that whatever happened was okay with me." I was willing to do whatever God wanted. And I meant it.

"Oh that," she said gently. "Sweet surrender."

"Yeah," I said. "It's sweet . . . now."

Surrender. The place that those of us on a spiritual path call home.