Going With The Flow (Instead Of Swimming Upstream)Written by Sibyl McLendon
One of biggest lessons that I have learned in this life is how futile it is to fight inevitability. Life is change; if we stop changing, we stop growing. Life is never going to go exactly way that you want it to. Something is always waiting to pop up and bite you. The more that you attempt to make life go your way more that it won’t. Your life will be so much more peaceful and smooth if you just learn to stop swimming upstream.Now, I am not saying that you should just stop making decisions and go whatever way wind blows. We all have to make decisions every day. We need to make certain decisions, that is just using our personal power to its fullest. But when you come up against an obstacle that you have no control over and that you really don’t like, what do you do? Maybe it is a change at your job, a change in someone close to you, or even a change in your health. If this is a major change, and you have no control over it, then more that you fight, worse it will be. The only thing that you will get from batting your head against a stone wall is a headache. The chance of you breaking down wall is nil. Constant resistance to a change that you cannot control has negative effects on your health, your emotions and people around you. When presented with a major change that one is resistant to, people tend to obsess about it, quickly becoming a pain to be around. Constant worrying and stressing over a change that you cannot control leads to all sorts of physical problems. And not one of these reactions is going to change core problem. It is so much better if you can recognize what is changeable and what is not. If something has manifested in your life that you cannot change, then you must change instead. Being flexible is a true virtue. You must learn to go with flow, so to speak, instead of always trying to swim upstream, against current. Ask yourself if this is a change that you can learn to live with. How much does it really impact your life? If it has to do with a job, then maybe you will have to adapt or find another one. If it is a major illness, then flexibility may save your life.
| | Leap... And The Net Will AppearWritten by Sibyl McLendon
In 1994, my life hit rock bottom. My husband was addicted to crack cocaine, my 17 year-old son had just gotten his 15 year-old girlfriend pregnant, we were about to get evicted from our home, I contracted a life-threatening illness with no health insurance and my Mother died very suddenly, and as her only child, responsibility of this fell solely on me. My emotional hole was so deep, I could not even imagine light at end of tunnel, let alone see it. Two years later, my husband was free of addiction, I was running a business that was quite successful, I was healthy and had a beautiful Grandson that I loved deeply. Today, my husband is still drug free, my business has evolved to point that we can work at home, my Grandson is still (and always will be) light of my life, and I can honestly say that life is good. It was a difficult path back into light. Certainly, my life is far from trouble free now. But I learned one invaluable lesson during dark time that keeps me from falling back into abyss, no matter what Universe throws at me today: faith. And really, faith in “what” is not issue. It is simply faith in something. It could be faith in Creator, angels, Universe, yourself, electricity, or even a rock. It really doesn’t matter. It is act of having faith that makes difference. Someone once told me that even an atheist has faith that when he flips wall switch, light will come on. Along way, I saw a Zen saying, “Leap… and net will appear.” It became my battle cry, my philosophy of life. Take a chance, give something a try, at least you are doing something. It is one step towards taking control of your life. Find a goal, even a little one, and then do one thing towards reaching it. It may be scary, but a little fear gets adrenaline pumping. The rewards can be immense. Your self-esteem will benefit greatly. If you succeed, even in a small way, you can say, “Look what I did!” Believe me, it feels great.
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