You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head,
but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.
~Chinese Proverb~
Sorrow comes to all of us, doesn't it. There is no escaping this life without drinking from this bitter cup. But we have choices don't we. How we choose to process sorrow can be the difference of living a life of pain and misery or a life of acceptance and forbearance.
I went through a period many years ago where I allowed sorrow to pull me into a "black pit". I convinced myself that I was entitled to feel this way. So I took sorrow's hand and let it lead the way. Sorrow can lead you into dark paths and alleys where no light can be found. It can start to eat away at your authentic self and, like a cancer, it can consume you. If you let it. I got to the point where I lost the ability to feel and I thought that I would never experience pure joy again (more on this later).
I ultimately came out of the pit. You want to know how? I chose to. After many years, I decided that I didn't want to feel this way anymore and I wasn't fulfilling my purpose here on earth (whatever that is! I'm still trying to figure it out!). So I decided to accept all the things that dragged me down. Now acceptance doesn't mean that you're happy about it. It doesn't mean you're okay about it. It is simply an acknowledgement that it is. Once I accepted it, I started to come alive again. It took a while but it happened. And that joy I mentioned earlier, it happened on the day my eldest daughter got married. Every picture of me that day glows! I couldn't have been happier. Not just because my daughter was getting married to a great guy, but because my joy came back.
We are more in control of our thoughts than we think. If you are interested in this topic, I highly recommend The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.
No comments:
Post a Comment