What's Wrong?

Why is it that it is always in retrospect that I like a haircut that I had? For the longest time, I have not liked my haircuts. I can't even remember the last time I truly liked my hair. But then, when I see a photo of myself, I think, gee that was not such a bad haircut. I am starting to think that it's not my hair, it's me. What if I just plain don't really like myself? The haircut is only an outer manifestation. It is not really all that important in and of itself.
Here is my secret: I want to cut off all of my hair. I want a really short haircut, and I don't want to have to deal with it. But I am afraid. I am afraid of looking too old, too mannish, not attractive. There, I've said it. Now I get to publicize it, see it on my blog, and then, and only then can I laugh at my own vanity.
Just in time for my haircut appointment on Thursday.
Here goes.

A story

I have a story. You have a story. We all have a story. At some point, we tell our stories to others. Without being conscious of it, we are each telling our stories to ourselves all the time.

What is my story?
Why do I tell my story to myself?
Does my story serve a purpose?
Does my story work for me anymore?

When we are storytelling, we are creating our lives, and reinforcing our memories. We are also coloring our present and future experiences. This is often a good and useful thing to do. But what about when we have, perhaps, outgrown our story? How do we know when it is time to shed our old story, and "write" a new one?

Who Loves You?

When I am getting down on myself, and thinking negative thoughts, I yearn for a quick fix for this; but the fact is that such thought patterns do not disappear that easily. Each time a negative thought pops up (i.e. that I notice its appearance), I cast about for a solution, a way out of the darkness, so to speak.
Not long ago, I was reminded about The Work, of Byron Katie. (Others have adapted her teachings to their own messages. Specifically, I heard Wayne Dyer use the basic principles in his latest "No Excuses" teaching.) As a matter of fact, I had the opportunity to hear a lecture by Byron Katie some fifteen or more years ago in Boston. At the time, she seemed kind of "out there" and, to be brutally frank, a bit on the flaky side, but not in a bad way. Anyway, she laid out her plan for dealing with any negative thought, as follows....it's meant to be reflection, not an active changing of your thoughts so much as an awareness and acceptance of them as an avenue to a change.
Any thought you have that is troublesome can be met with the four questions: "Is it true? Can you absolutely know it is true? How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought? Who would you be without that thought?"
Next, you "turn it around" - think the opposite of the original thought, and provide yourself at least three examples. Finally, you "embrace reality" which entails opening your mind and heart to all experience without fear. All of this is supposed to get you to a new state of awareness about your negative thinking.
Every thought we have also contains its opposite, as surely as light and dark exist in one another. For example, if I am angry at someone, inside that must always be some anger that already existed in me. This is not about blame, but about acknowledging the truth within.

With God, all things are possible.

With God, all things are possible.
With God, all things are possible.
With God, all things are possible.
With God, all things are possible.
With God, all things are possible.
With God, all things are possible.
With God, all things are possible.
With God, all things are possible.
With God, all things are possible.
With God, all things are possible.

Now and again, when darkness surrounds you, and there seems to be no viable solution to the situation, it is good to remember:

With God, all things are possible.

It is not always possible to know the solution to your problem. It is not always possible to share your troubles with others, or to allow others to help you. It is not always possible to sustain faith in the midst of the darkness. The one thing that is certain, irrefutable, and unchanging:

With God, all things are possible.

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P.S. "With God, all things are possible" is the State Motto of Ohio.

It's a Miracle!

Miracles surround us every day. You might even say we do not even exist apart from miracles. Our very essence is a miracle. We would do well to stop discounting this very basic fact. When we take the time to marvel over the idea that we ARE a miracle, we can stop LOOKING for miracles. Looking for miracles is like trying to see the air. If ever we do see air, it is only because it is mixed in with something else, like mist or smoke, etc. It is the same with miracles. What we see when we think we are experiencing a miracle is really that something else that is mixed in. The miracle itself was already there.
Today I sing of miracles. Today I breathe in miracles. Today I radiate miracles. Today I am a miracle.

Love is life's song

We tend to think of love as something we give or receive, or as something we want or need. Yet love is so much more, and so much less, than that. Love simply is. It is all around us and in us. We are love personified. There is no escaping love. We can deny it, justify it, and objectify it. But the truth remains: Love is.
Whenever we are feeling a lack of love, or a lack of ability to either give or allow in love, we can help ourselves by seeing that the lack itself is not the love. Love always waits for us at the other end of our self-doubt and struggle. Love keeps on singing life's song, always and forever. It is up to us to pitch in and sing along.

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro (Italian for light - dark) is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark. A more obscure (!) definition is the quality of being veiled or partly in shadow.

We have a tendency to either focus too much on, or to attempt to deny, the darker parts of our selves. When we dwell on the shadows, we can even become quite down on ourselves. By the same token, if we try to ignore the darker aspects of ourselves, they have a way of rearing up to remind us of their existence.

Perhaps there is another way. If we borrow from the artist's way the concept of chiaroscuro, we can begin to see that the interplay of light and dark in our selves and our lives can create a beauty of its own. If we look only at one or the other, instead of keeping them both in our sights, we lose an essential perspective. If we look at the contrast of light and dark in relation to each other, we can begin to appreciate the worth of all of our experiences.