Do you ever stop to observe your own thoughts and behaviors, to observe yourself and your life? Do you ever wonder why you are doing whatever it is that you are doing? Do you ever stop and observe the world? Most of us live our lives on autopilot, and we rarely or never stop and question the way we live our lives and why we live the way we do.
There are many lessons life has to teach us and today you will discover 10 of them:
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1. Change Is The Only Constant In Life
What does this mean? It means that no matter how much we try to avoid change, it will be impossible to do so, since change is the only constant in life.
<em>"Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer." -- Shunryu Suzuki</em>
2. Nothing Lasts Forever
Nothing ever lasts forever, and this is exactly why we need to learn to detach from things, places and people in our lives and, when the time comes to say goodbye, to let them all go and to do it with dignity.
<em>"Nothing lasts forever, so live it up, drink it down, avoid the b.s, take chances and never regret because at one point it was what you wanted." -- Unknown</em>
3. We Judge Others for the Things We Haven't Accepted in Ourselves
The traits we dislike in others are the traits we dislike in ourselves. This is something most of us can't even grasp and we get irritated when we hear such things, especially when we are all thinking so highly of ourselves and we <em>know</em> for sure that we are perfect and <em>they</em> are not.
<em>"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves." -- Carl Gustav Jung</em>
4. We Can't Force Love
Love comes because it wants to come, not because we want it to come. Our family, friends, co-workers, lovers -- they all love us because they choose to, not because we want them to, and the same applies to you. Love is meant to be felt, enjoyed and lived, not to be forced on anyone.
<em>"You can't force love, I realized. It's there or it isn't. If it's not there, you've got to be able to admit it. If it is there, you've got to do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love." -- Richelle Mead</em>
5. "How People Treat Us Is Their Karma, How We React Is Ours." -- Wayne Dyer
When you are happy and content with your own life, you act in kind, happy and loving ways toward everyone around you. As within, so without, and no matter how mean people might act toward you at times, you will stay perfectly serene and peaceful, responding in loving to their behavior -- for that is who you are, and you give out that which is within.
<em>"When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out -- because that's what's inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside." -- Wayne Dyer</em>
6. What We Resist, Persists
The more we fight against certain things, life circumstances, events, people, ideas, etc., the more we will be contributing to their growth and persistence into our daily lives. Learn to shift your focus from that which you are against to that which you are for, and to that which you wish to attract into your daily life and watch how your life will be transformed.
<em>"By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning." -- Lao Tzu</em>
7. Our Thoughts Create Our Reality
We are where we are right now because of the thoughts we thought, and our lives look the way they do because of the thoughts we thought over and over again. If the thoughts that run though our minds are pure, positive and empowering, we will create positive and empowering beliefs about ourselves and about life, and our actions will be a reflection of these thoughts and beliefs.
<em>"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny." -- Unknown</em>
8. There Comes A Time In Your Life When You Really Need To Let Go
When the time comes to let go of certain things, ideas, or people, don't resist it. Allow yourself to experience life, allow yourself to grow, to learn and evolve, allow yourself to be happy.
<em>"There comes a time in your life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama and the people who create it and surround yourself with people who make you laugh so hard that you forget the bad and focus solely on the good. After all life is too short to be anything but happy." -- Karl Marx (composer)</em>
9. We Will Regret The Things We Don't Do More Than The Things We Do
Whenever you want to do something but you are too afraid to do it because of what might happen after that, I want you to remember about <a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2505-senior-citizen-grad-advice.html" target="_hplink">this study</a> that was performed on elderly individuals a few years back, that has shown how during old age, most of these people have regrets about the many things they didn't have the courage to do as opposed to the things they did do.
<em>"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain</em>
10. You Can't Control Other People's Behaviors, You Only Think You Can
It's funny how the closer we are to a person the more rights we think we have to control them and their lives without realizing the only thing we can control is our attitude towards them and their behavior, that's all.
<em>"Never underestimate your power to change yourself; never overestimate your power to change others." -- Wayne W. Dyer</em>
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so true. these folks we see raging on the comment board need this lesson desperately.
you said you want to believe that al people are good.... etc. that sounds like preconceived notion / expectation to me.... and sure enough you would be disappointed from time to time. as you encounter each person, listen and observe, connect to your intuition and follow its lead. I always say when you listen to people, they will tell you what/who they are. so instead of letting go, you're updating yourself and evolving.
I am a 2nd generation incest survivor. the predator is my father's father , who incested his daughter, my aunt, when she was a small child. to the outside world and the relatives, he was a dotting father and grandpa.
Many of us grow up believing that if we can only get things in our lives just the way we want them, then we’ll live happily ever after. What we later find out is that all of the things we get, will eventually slip away. If we are strongly attached to them, we will suffer greatly when they are gone.
What I teach spiritual seekers is to enjoy the valuable things in life while they are with us, and then accept it when they’re gone. I realize this is easier said than done. This is where the practice of mindfulness meditation comes in. Through the practice we develop the inner strength to accept whatever life throws at us.
Charles A. Francis
The Mindfulness Meditation Institute
http://www.MindfulnessMeditationInstitute.org
I have goals that will become reality in the future, for certain and yes the way I want.
"What we later find out is that all of the things we get, will eventually slip away."
That is if you let them.
Determination is a good thing for the most part. Things like love, kids, marriage, and jobs are things we can't be attached to, doesn't mean that we can't get attached to anything.
Quite simple, though, not so easy.
Thank you.
Warm regards,
Charles
Lest you think I am a polyanna, I have started and lost a business; I have lost jobs and clients; I have had failed relationships of all kinds; I have come on hard financial times; and I have botched a lot of projects, but I don't regret for a minute having tried it. But, the things that I didn't do or didn't complete, they are the ones that make me wonder: "What would have happened if..."
sounds like you have gained yourself much interesting experiences... and hey where I live 78 is just one of the folks. I have many friends/neighbors in their 80's and early 90's. my husband and I are 54 and we feel like a couple of teenagers among the 'mature adults' .... hahahaa..........
(And ain't nothing wrong with a little Pollyanna sometimes)
oh, yes. it's not just death and taxes are for sure, changes are inevitable.