“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”
“Peace comes from within. do not seek it without.”
“To understand everything is to forgive everything.”
“Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.”
There are days when everything goes smoothly and you get the feeling you have your life totally under control. You have a sense of who you are, where you are going and what you are doing. People behave the way you expect and you understand them completely. They speak and understand what you are talking about and their support is endless. You get an overwhelming feeling of support and the notion that you are not alone.
Then come those days of utter defeat. Nothing goes according to plan and many plans are changed and demolished at a moments notice. The responses you receive from others are shattering and your nerves take the hit from all over your body. You almost question if your previous assumptions about anybody and anything were even close to being accurate.What happened you ask yourself? Did your companions fall off of the planet or were you fooled by their façade? I suppose these would be accurate questions to ask when you find your world upside down. Bad days usually continue to be tough from beginning to end. I always congratulate myself for getting through them at the end of one of those days.
All my faith, trust and belief flies out the window as I pick up the pieces the next day and attempt to figure out what happened. Nothing transpired actually except problems for all of us to work on and figure out. When we have a good relationship with someone it is always tested. It most likely has to do with unconditional love. That is our ability to love others despite their unkind words and heartless actions.
Sometimes we can’t forgive what transpired and we leave the relationship. Other times we accept the chain of events and move forward with a renewed understanding. Some of us bruise easier. Others don’t have to work hard to crush us and maybe this brings them a sense of control in their own lives by making us “pay” for whatever perceived wrongdoing they find us guilty of. It could be conceived and untrue but what we focus on takes a reality by itself.
What is difficult for me is coming to an understanding of who they really are. Do I believe they are actually my kind friend having a bad day or are they more my enemy disguised most of the time as a friend. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. What counts is the way I handle the disagreement or offense.
Of course our passive aggressive friends and family members often believe they are innocent of all wrongs. They are not loud or threatening but they probably wield more insults than our outspoken companions. They speak softly so you don’t catch the cutting words. I hate it when they come back at you like they haven’t a clue what you are talking about. It makes them feel above the banter.
Did you ever want to say to someone “You really ruined my day and my night. I felt so under appreciated and struck down. I keep trying to stand up but you have this need to ruin and defeat me. I’m not asking for special privileges or any privileges for that matter just respect.”
Of course those words are never spoken out loud from my lips because I never want to make issues worse than they are. Living in the confusion of the moment is tough because there are times when it is difficult to comprehend another’s motives. At times people want a certain revenge or way to break another. they are perhaps doing a better job than they think. Unfortunately for them, life always turns injustices around so much can come back at us. I don’t believe it is to harm instead it is to cause impressions and the sense of the moods when one is impaired. We eventually might become the target of the day and learn the hard way the teachings we were so innocently and freely bestowing on others. It is something to reflect on.
I attribute those bad days to bad attitudes or stress or tiredness or all three. We can’t be waking on the correct side of the bed every day. I do wish when a person is having a bad day they would kindly avoid me. I will promise to do the same for them. Staying low and acknowledging to ourselves how awful we feel may keep us from stepping on others. I would suggest reflecting on everything positive in our lives. Hopefully it might turn a perplexing day into an enlightening one.
It’s possible to transform our bewildering days into enlightening ones before they erupt into something beyond our control. I tend to overlook much, forgive everything but then reach an over load and melt into despair and tears. We all have our limits. The strongest among us feels pain and eventually breaks. Sometimes people won’t display their feelings in front of us. We never view the damage we ignite. I want to be thankful, stop regret and change my life.
“All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?”
“To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.”
“Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.”
“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserves your love and affection.”
ALL QUOTES BY BUDDHA
