Tuesday 7 May 2013

 Peace, love and understanding. What's wrong with any of that? And why, if it is so desirable, is it so elusive? How come we live in a world full of conflict, disrespect and misunderstanding? It's all topsy-turvy. Back to front. Perhaps that's because secretly we don't crave contentment quite as much as we claim. We rather like settling old scores and nursing our grievances or grudges. You get a nice clear choice today. You can feed a fire or you can help to put it out.We all get hungry. We all get thirsty. We all get tired. And we all, sooner or later, one way or another, deal with these physical needs. It is also true to say that we all get worried, we all get fearful and we all get stressed. As passing experiences, these are acceptable and understandable enough. But sometimes, we don't find it quite so easy to address those issues and assuage the feelings of discomfort that arise from those moods. You may now feel that it simply isn't possible to lighten a heavy heart quite so easily. But it is.
I'm just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.' So goes the old song. It sounds like a perfectly reasonable request, until you stop to think about it. Good intentions? The road to Hell is paved with those. And why leave it to the Lord to sort out your communication problems? Can't you take a little responsibility for them yourself? The coming events speaks of a gap between theory and practice. Somehow, that now becomes very clear. So too, though, does a way to bridge it.
What's the difference between success and failure? There are several potential answers, all equally as good. You may, for example, reply, 'Persistence'. The person who just shrugs their shoulders and just gives up, allows all chance of success to slip through their fingers. The ones who keep on trying to make themselves magnetically attractive to passing opportunity. But there is another difference. 'Expectation'. If we are too narrow in our definition, we mistake a gain for a loss. Be open, to a new way to look at an old situation.
Has anyone ever told you how good looking you are? Or how clever? I know but I couldn't let the moment pass without acknowledging some of your very special qualities. Perhaps, more to the point, I wanted to illustrate just how easy it is to say something nice to someone which then instantly lifts them into a better mood. It is particularly important to make positive statements when there are potentially negative things to be said as well. Be delicate. 
 Is there something for which you should apologise? Have you behaved badly? Have you let someone down? Or broken some crucial rule? I'm not suggesting that you have. This forecast is not designed to prick at your conscience but rather to echo the way in which it might seem as if some people have judged you and found you guilty of a crime that you didn't even know you had been accused of. If that's really the case, then it need not be your problem, it should be theirs. You deserve better treatment and more respect.  
 If there is one thing this world has no shortage of, one stream that never runs out or dries up, it is the constant flow of strong opinion. Everyone thinks they know what's wrong with the world. What's really wrong with the world is that too many people think they know what's wrong with it! Try to be more open-minded.  'Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?' They ask questions like this in courtrooms. But can the answers always be relied on? Do any of us know what the truth is? Isn't it all, to some extent, rather relative and subjective? Little pieces of important information can make a vast difference to our understanding of so many matters. As you now attempt to reach a vital decision, it is important to remember that what one person perceives as unquestionable, someone else deeply mistrusts.
What brought you to Planet Earth in the first place? When you were floating up in heaven, flicking through the brochures, along with all those other spirit beings, why did a life on this particular little blue spinning ball catch your eye? Did you fancy the food? Were you attracted to the scenery? Or did you think, 'Apparently, there is an endless supply of stressful challenges. I shall enjoy rising to those!' Even if so, you really have had more than your fair share of those lately. It is time for an easier time. 
 Swans, we are told, pair-bond for life. There are no anatidae divorce courts, no grounds on which a cob can seek separation from a pen - or vice versa. Can we conclude from this that, in the realm of a cygnus, all is perfect? Well, that rather depends on whether you would prefer to be a human. The most apparently elegant solution to your problem today, be it of a romantic nature or otherwise, is not necessarily the most appropriate. Be a little wary of ideals that are based around some far-fetched vision of a perfect world. 
Official announcement: The rest of the week has been cancelled due to lack of enthusiasm in some quarters and too much in others. All events, good and bad, have been indefinitely postponed. The entire world is now entering a state of limbo, during which time will stop and all living beings will enter suspended animation. Unless, that is, you would care to do something about this. Yes, I do mean you. You have the power to move everything on, simply by making one brave decision. 
People, it seems, are forever trying to change themselves. We humans have a tendency to identify aspects of our lifestyle, our personality or even our basic physical form and then find fault with this. We think, 'Everything will be better, if only I could fix this, alter that or retrain myself to behave differently. The aspiration for self-improvement is laudable but sometimes too, it is counter-productive. Your current real challenge, to some extent at least, involves learning to love yourself just the way you are.

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