Today's
quotation:
Being stuck is a position few of us like.
We want something
new but cannot let go of the old— old
ideas,
beliefs, habits,
even thoughts. We are
out of contact with
our own genius. Sometimes we know we are stuck; sometimes we don’t.
In both cases we have
to do something.
Inga Teekens
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Today's
Meditation:
Letting
go of the old-- how difficult it can be. We tend to
hold on to those things that we "know" simply
because we learned them at one time, but from whom did we
learn them? Were our teachers enlightened
people? Happy people? Loving people? Was
their focus on teaching us what was best for us as unique
individuals, or on passing on their own brand of wisdom,
something that might have worked for them but which might
not have been best for us?
Our
own genius lies in looking at the new, the untried, the
different. Our genius lies in growth, and the one
constant in growth is change. Without change, there
is no growth, and without letting go of yesterday's
beliefs and ideas, there is no room for new thoughts and
beliefs.
There's
something rather comforting about our old ways. They
can be like an old friend who helps us to feel a sense of
continuity, of history. In some ways they can
represent safety, but in many ways, safety isn't the best
thing for us. Sticking to the old and the known is
like putting up a curtain in front of our windows and not
letting in this morning's sunlight, for we saw yesterday's
sunlight and we believe in it, and we want to keep it.
Inga
says that "in both cases we have to do
something." We have to be active in letting go
of our old ideas and learning new ones. We have to
consider them closely and ask ourselves if they help us or
hinder us. We must be truthful and thorough, for the
more we hang on to in our lives, the less can get in later
on, for we have to leave room for the new, and not keep
our minds cluttered with beliefs and ideas that serve no
one or no thing.
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