DEAR ONES:  For what it is worth!  Eleanor

INSPIRATIONAL MUSINGS
As I was filing folders on my computer I looked into my file entitled Inspirational I found several things that were too good to keep hidden.  This morning I want to share several things that have inspired me; provoked me; amused me; and generally added another strand of the Sacred to my life.  The only thing that holds these pieces together is that thread of God, the sacred, and I offer them to you to enrich your life as they have mine.  You have often heard me say that I find it wonderful to find theosophical teachings everywhere I look!  All of these add up to the miracle of life. You know that small miracles occur for ordinary people day by ordinary day.  There is grace in knowing what might have been but wasn’t and bliss in living a day when nothing special happens but life just works.

To begin with I offer you a definition of God’s Job:  “Putting together the unlikely and the improbable from the unseen to create the unusual for the unprepared.”  That’s us, right?

Next, from a paper entitled “25 Life-changing Things to be Learned From Buddha,” let us consider just these five:

1. Love heals all things.
   The Buddha says:  “Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.”
2. It’s not what you say but what you do that defines you.
   “A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.”
   ”A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.”
3. The secret of good health is to live fully in the NOW.
   “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
   “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
4. Who looks inside awakens.
   “The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.”
5. Words have the power to both hurt and heal.
   “Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.”

Think on it: if we all could really live by these five rules how different Life would be.

Now let us consider the word “Fear.”  Using those four letters we might find the following words:

FALSE
EVIDENCE
APPEARING
REAL

FORGET
EVERYTHING
AND
RUN

FACE
EVERYTHING
AND
RISE

My next rambling takes us to a one-liner from WQ Judge.  He said, “Anger ruptures the cohesion of the particles that compose the inner man.”  Pondering that statement might alter the course of our lives!
Another life-changing one-liner by Colin Wilson pulls no punches:  “If you spend less time indulging in self-pity and more time in trying to achieve some kind of self-discipline you stand a better chance of survival.”  How often do we encounter the concept of self-responsibility?
By Richard Bach: “If your happiness depends on what somebody else does, I guess you do have a problem.”
The next bit of wisdom caught my eye because of the title “The Great Transformer, Loving What You Hate.”
“Hatred can be irrational, and it has a greater impact on the individual who hates than the person or object being hated. Yet overcoming hatred is difficult because hatred reinforces itself and causes greater enmity to come into being. The most powerful tool one can use to combat hatred is love. Deciding to love what you hate, whether this is a person, situation, or a part of yourself, can create a profound change in your feelings and your experience. There is little room for anger, dislike, bitterness, or resentment when you are busy loving what you hate. The practice of loving what you hate can transform and shift your emotions from hatred to love, because there is no room for hatred in a space occupied by love.
“Granted, it is difficult to forgo judging someone, love your enemy, and seek the good in situations that seem orchestrated to cause you pain or anger. But in deciding to love what you hate, you become one less person adding negativity to the universe. On a simple level, loving what you hate can help you enjoy your life more. On a more complex level, loving what you hate sets you free because you disengage yourself from the hatred that can weigh down the soul. Responding with love to people radiating hatred transmutes their negative energy. You also empower yourself by not letting their negativity enter your personal space. Rather than lowering yourself to the level of their hatred, you give the other person an opportunity to rise above their feelings and meet you on the field of love.
“Gandhi once said, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ Loving what you hate sends a positive, beautiful energy to people while spreading peace and harmony throughout the planet. Instead of reinforcing hatred, you become an advocate for love. Hatred responds to hate by causing anguish. But hatred responds to love by transforming into blissful peace.
“St. Theresa’s Prayer:
“May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.”