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Today's
Meditation:
I've felt sorrow. We all have. It's as
much a part of life as joy and doubt and wonder and
disappointment. And just like the other feelings and
reactions and emotions that are sparked by things out of
our control, sorrow is meant to be fleeting, something
that strikes us, affects us, then moves on-- just as the
metaphor of the birds in this saying reminds us.
Problems occur in our lives when we invite those birds to
stay, and when we offer them a home in our hearts and our
spirits.
I've known people who invite the birds for a nice long
stay. These people keep not only themselves down,
but also the other people in their lives. When we
ask the birds of sorrow to stay, you see, they take up all
the room, and then there's no space for joy, no place for
happiness to hang its hat and stay awhile, nowhere for
hope and optimism to sleep when they want to spend some
time with us. By inviting those birds in, we
necessarily reject many other guests that can be much more
positive forces in our lives and in the lives of the
people we touch.
Feel your sorrow. Live your sorrow. While it's
with you, it's very real and it demands and deserves your
attention. But pay attention to it as something that
won't be with you long, that will soon have flown off in a
new direction, leaving you far, far behind. There is
absolutely no need to invite sorrow to stay, and doing so
can only hurt, and is helpful in no way at all. We
only invite sorrow to stay when our desire to feel
self-pity is stronger than our desire to live full and
fulfilling lives, and that's not a good reason to decide
to do anything in life, is it?
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