Today's Quotation:

The more we give up our hearts to God, to our vocations, and to others, forgetful of ourselves and of that which belongs to us— the greater poise we will acquire, until we reach peace, quiet, joy.

Alexander Yelchaninov

Today's Meditation:

The whole idea of "giving up" sounds so negative to so many people that they don't even consider the possibility that it may be something positive for them.  But almost every religious leader and teacher has taught that giving up is one of the key elements to a happy, healthy, fulfilling life.  Why do we listen so carefully to our financial advisors about how to invest our money, yet ignore the lessons of people who are focusing on our potential happiness?

What do you perceive God to be?  We don't have to "give up our hearts" to the God of any particular religion, but if you do believe in God, then an all-loving, all-wise being seems to be someone or something to whom we would be glad to give up our hearts.  It's a question of trust and control when we no longer try to control every aspect of our own lives, trusting much of who we are to the being or essence from which or by which we were created.

Most of us fail regularly when we try to protect our hearts from hurt or try to control our feelings.  That's a failure that comes from trying to control the uncontrollable, and when we do so, we're setting ourselves up for more and more hurt.  That hurt is not necessary in our lives, though, and can be replaced with peace, quiet, and joy once we "give up" and let life be life without trying to make it what we think life should be.

If we can give up our hearts and stop focusing so strongly on ourselves, we can find that this world has many, many opportunities to offer us-- many, many ways that we can help others and thus turn our lives into productive, fulfilling times on this planet.

Questions to ponder:

1.  Why do we tend to find it hard to "give up" anything in our lives?

2.  What would be some of the benefits of giving up our hearts and focusing our lives on others and their needs?

3.  Who are some of the role models of people who have done so?  What were their lives like?

For further thought:

Let go of your expectations.  The universe will do what it will.  Sometimes your dreams will come true.  Sometimes they won't.  Sometimes when you let go of a broken dream, another one gently takes its place.  Be aware of what is, not what you would like to be, taking place.

Melody Beattie

more thoughts and ideas on letting go

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