You are free to do as you choose. You are also free to do as you are told. Nobody can stop you from taking orders or bowing to pressure or from feeling obliged to agree with others. You have a perfect right to be acquiescent, even subservient. You can feel as guilty, as threatened, as helpless and as timid as you wish. You can even, if you want to, feel proud of such qualities. So, go ahead. But remember that you are also free to reject something that isn't working for you in your emotional life. Don't be afraid to be strong.Whenever we don't face the source of emotional pain, we tend to bury it. We ignore our feelings because they are too uncomfortable for us to deal with. If we are clever, we can quieten them down to the point where they become like festering pools of some noxious substance. They give off no odour until the top layer is disturbed and feels very sensitive then don't indulge a negative feeling. Here's a chance to see what's been causing it, and to be bigger than that.Here is a classic dilemma that many of us find ourselves facing, far too often.
A piece of machinery malfunctions. Should it be replaced, or repaired? Can you protect your investment, or will you just be throwing good money after bad? It's not just equipment that can cause us to consider such tricky issues. Arrangements, agreements... even relationships may provoke such doubt. The big question now is how hard have you tried to amend something that no longer seems to be working? Try just a little harder.Think about a dull piece of metal about the size of a coin. Around the edge, notches have been carved. Across the centre, there is a groove. Are you fascinated? Ah, but what if I were to tell you that this is the vital component in a machine that could revolutionise your life. Once it has taken its rightful place in the engine, miracles will begin to happen. Without it, there will be no progress.
Now look at what seems somehow incongruous in your emotional life. Ignore 'what it is'. Consider 'what it is a part of'. And relax. When various factors are producing a sense of nervousness and jumpiness only to find you in a tense and restless mood. You're taking a lot of things very personally at the moment. You're even half-inclined to suspect that some of the TV news stories of trouble in the wider world are somehow your fault - or have been created by your adversaries, merely to make you suffer! Relax, please. Firstly, you're nowhere near as responsible as you fear for a bunch of problems. Secondly, many of these are not problems at all!
A self-sufficient farm, maybe. Enough land to grow your own food and feed your own family. Oh, plus a nuclear bunker in case of war, buildings on stilts in case of floods, security outposts to keep out city folk once the world economy collapses for ever and... er... well... Security is a frame of mind, not a physical arrangement. Faith can bring light to even the darkest situation. Fear can create the reverse. And yet, in your emotional life now, the only thing you really need to escape from is a negative expectation.Things never happen just because they need to happen. They happen because someone has acknowledged that need, and then set about searching for a positive way to meet it. No matter how unhappy you may be about a situation, the fact remains that you are half way towards sorting it out, just by admitting that it makes you feel fed up!
Now you simply have to stop complaining and start actually doing something. It hardly matters what you do this period as long as you do it with goodwill and positive energy. You already have a lot to be thankful for. Soon, you will have even more. You will, of course, continue to have many reasons to feel disgruntled or uncomfortable. Problems are not about to disappear. Problems, though, always seem worse when there is little hope on the horizon. Rain always looks nicer when the sun shines through it and brings a source of light and inspiration, a bright idea, a hopeful piece of news. It is even possible that you may soon encounter a warm gesture of sincere support.Whatever you believe, you can bring into being.' Or so they tell us. It is not, of course, quite so simple. You can't get what you want the moment you want it. Nor, for that matter, can you bring about instant disaster, just by entertaining a negative expectation. Time has to pass and, generally, circumstances have to alter. We are often more likely to hear an echo of our beliefs in the way that our world changes, rather than a complete confirmation. Still, though, if you summon your faith you can do some amazing things...: There is nothing so satisfying as a success that you have worked long and hard to bring about. Instant victories are not to be knocked - but, just as it's far more enjoyable to slake a deep thirst than to casually sip on a drink, it's good, sometimes, to build up a real sense of need for something. Provided, of course, that you stand a reasonable chance of having that need met. Even if all you can see is the problem, this will only make the eventual solution more pleasing. As you won't have too long to wait as you are not where you used to be.
You've moved on, in your heart and mind, if not with your physical form. What once scared you now hardly bothers you. What once excited you now leaves you cold. The latter may not seem like an especially desirable development. But you were getting very hot under the collar about matters that were ultimately unworthy of your attention. Now you're free to turn your attention to truly inspiring, deeply worthwhile priorities.here's no substitute for hard work. Or so they say. But then, they say a lot of things. I mean, come to think of it, there's probably no substitute either for a tense conflict. But that doesn't make a good reason to get into one. You can, if you want to, put in a lot of intense effort now. Nobody will stop you and it will lead to an impressive result. But if you now make a decision in your emotional life to go only for what's easy, what feels right and what's natural, you won't ever feel you settled for second best. Suggestions from a friend.
A piece of machinery malfunctions. Should it be replaced, or repaired? Can you protect your investment, or will you just be throwing good money after bad? It's not just equipment that can cause us to consider such tricky issues. Arrangements, agreements... even relationships may provoke such doubt. The big question now is how hard have you tried to amend something that no longer seems to be working? Try just a little harder.Think about a dull piece of metal about the size of a coin. Around the edge, notches have been carved. Across the centre, there is a groove. Are you fascinated? Ah, but what if I were to tell you that this is the vital component in a machine that could revolutionise your life. Once it has taken its rightful place in the engine, miracles will begin to happen. Without it, there will be no progress.
Now look at what seems somehow incongruous in your emotional life. Ignore 'what it is'. Consider 'what it is a part of'. And relax. When various factors are producing a sense of nervousness and jumpiness only to find you in a tense and restless mood. You're taking a lot of things very personally at the moment. You're even half-inclined to suspect that some of the TV news stories of trouble in the wider world are somehow your fault - or have been created by your adversaries, merely to make you suffer! Relax, please. Firstly, you're nowhere near as responsible as you fear for a bunch of problems. Secondly, many of these are not problems at all!
A self-sufficient farm, maybe. Enough land to grow your own food and feed your own family. Oh, plus a nuclear bunker in case of war, buildings on stilts in case of floods, security outposts to keep out city folk once the world economy collapses for ever and... er... well... Security is a frame of mind, not a physical arrangement. Faith can bring light to even the darkest situation. Fear can create the reverse. And yet, in your emotional life now, the only thing you really need to escape from is a negative expectation.Things never happen just because they need to happen. They happen because someone has acknowledged that need, and then set about searching for a positive way to meet it. No matter how unhappy you may be about a situation, the fact remains that you are half way towards sorting it out, just by admitting that it makes you feel fed up!
Now you simply have to stop complaining and start actually doing something. It hardly matters what you do this period as long as you do it with goodwill and positive energy. You already have a lot to be thankful for. Soon, you will have even more. You will, of course, continue to have many reasons to feel disgruntled or uncomfortable. Problems are not about to disappear. Problems, though, always seem worse when there is little hope on the horizon. Rain always looks nicer when the sun shines through it and brings a source of light and inspiration, a bright idea, a hopeful piece of news. It is even possible that you may soon encounter a warm gesture of sincere support.Whatever you believe, you can bring into being.' Or so they tell us. It is not, of course, quite so simple. You can't get what you want the moment you want it. Nor, for that matter, can you bring about instant disaster, just by entertaining a negative expectation. Time has to pass and, generally, circumstances have to alter. We are often more likely to hear an echo of our beliefs in the way that our world changes, rather than a complete confirmation. Still, though, if you summon your faith you can do some amazing things...: There is nothing so satisfying as a success that you have worked long and hard to bring about. Instant victories are not to be knocked - but, just as it's far more enjoyable to slake a deep thirst than to casually sip on a drink, it's good, sometimes, to build up a real sense of need for something. Provided, of course, that you stand a reasonable chance of having that need met. Even if all you can see is the problem, this will only make the eventual solution more pleasing. As you won't have too long to wait as you are not where you used to be.
You've moved on, in your heart and mind, if not with your physical form. What once scared you now hardly bothers you. What once excited you now leaves you cold. The latter may not seem like an especially desirable development. But you were getting very hot under the collar about matters that were ultimately unworthy of your attention. Now you're free to turn your attention to truly inspiring, deeply worthwhile priorities.here's no substitute for hard work. Or so they say. But then, they say a lot of things. I mean, come to think of it, there's probably no substitute either for a tense conflict. But that doesn't make a good reason to get into one. You can, if you want to, put in a lot of intense effort now. Nobody will stop you and it will lead to an impressive result. But if you now make a decision in your emotional life to go only for what's easy, what feels right and what's natural, you won't ever feel you settled for second best. Suggestions from a friend.
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