October 9, 2008
I’ve dipped into SILVER LININGS before, and on a day when the Dow descends lower than it’s been in years…this is a good day to shift focus.
On the back of the book is a quote from the Buddha “When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.”
You might be thinking “she’s nuts,” but fear is our worst enemy right now. Reality bites, but we can change our perspective.
So I open up SILVER LININGS to a page that is headed The Rocky Bottom, and a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. This is powerful:
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.
Are you holding your breath right now? Breathe. In and out. Measured breaths. And if tears go along for the ride, all the better. Hormones of emotion are in tears, and when you cry, it clears you out.
SILVER LININGS has beautiful photos of flowers and other natural landscapes, matched with musings. Like author Mina Parker’s essay The Upside of Adversity. She tops the page with a quote by Edmund Burke:
He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens out skill. Our antagonist is our helper.
Parker mentions the top athletes, who push themselves and each other. And are better for it.
Connecting with others works…as long as you keep the vibration up. No kvetching, please, dahling.
Movies and theatre transform energy magically, as does music. The point is to keep moving, and smiling, and breathing. All quite natural, you may notice.
Yesterday, I mentioned how I distracted myself from the cruelty around me as I grew up, and how that inclination to distract myself turned into a bad habit. Emotions got stuck inside, I didn’t grow in relationships, and I tend toward being a workaholic. SILVER LININGS is a beautiful reminder to experience your feelings fully, to embrace those you love, and to know that whatever is going on now, will pass.
I love this Bret Harte quote:
The only sure thing about luck is that it will change.
My BF and I had a quote we would toss at each other — from FINDING NEMO. We would say with a smile Just keep swimming, just keep swimming….
