Today's
Quotation:
The need to
make wise choices encompasses every area of our lives. Since we have time for only a limited amount of
stuff, we need to choose wisely what stuff we're going to
allow to take up that time. Since we have only a
limited amount of time to spend with friends or to engage in leisure activities, we need to choose our friends and
our activities wisely.
Elaine St. James
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Today's
Meditation:
I
know some people who take whatever comes along in the
"friends and activities" category. They
don't practice discernment at all-- they never sit down and
ask "is this what's best for me?" They tend
to live without being aware of their own needs, without
being able to see when certain activities or people are
harmful to them. I know many students who go out
drinking with friends who constantly convince them
to do so, even if they'd rather spend the evening studying
for tomorrow's test. In this case, neither the friends
nor the activities have been chosen wisely at all.
Many
people spend years doing the same activities, over and over
again, long after the newness and true enjoyment have worn
off. Other people can spend years doing the same
activities and never feel a sense of diminished
enjoyment. One person would need to choose to find new
activities, while the other would be fine doing the same
thing forever.
But
life is short-- we all know that. We may get
overwhelmed by what's going on in our lives and by the many
options available unless we learn to choose wisely and
effectively. When all is said and done, life is about
making decisions-- the people we will be tomorrow depend upon
the decisions that we make today. And how do we learn
to choose wisely? We observe the results whenever we
make decisions. Do I feel belittled or depressed when
I'm with this person? Then being with him or her
probably isn't the best thing. Does this activity make
me feel better the next day? Does this person or this
activity bring me peace or conflict?
Once
we learn to observe and reflect, then we can make decisions
that will truly help us in life.
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