Words of Wisdom

Todays mantra..

is influenced by his holiness, the Dalai Lama. I had the opportunity to attend one of his speeches, when I was a student at UC Santa Barbara. Though simple, his words struck a chord with me. His presence was calm and serene. He seemed to wise, and was so full of stories. I wanted him to be my second grandpa. I received his book upon attending the lecture, called "Ethics for the New Millennium". It was one of those books that I read front to back. And if you know me at all...that's a rare thing for me to do. 

And so he wrote.

  " Personally, I find it enormously helpful the advice given about suffering by the great Indian scholar saint, Shantideva. Is it essential, he said, that when we face difficulties of whatever sort we do not let them paralyze us. If we do, we are in danger of being totally overwhelmed by them. Instead, using our critical faculties, we should examine the nature of the problem itself. If we find that there exists the possibility we could solve it by some means or other, there is no need for anxiety. If, on the other hand, we find that the nature of the problem admits no solution , there is no point worrying about it." 

Shantideva's approach may sound somewhat simplistic. But its very beauty lies in the simplicity.

Which connects to the thoughts I am having today. 

Todays Mantra: Unfortunate events, though potentially a source of anger and despair, have equal potential to be a source of spiritual growth. Whether or no this is the outcome depends on our response. 

What does this mean to you? To me this means that the hard I have experienced have be tests. Tests to see how strong I am, mentally, spiritually, and physically. These tests were made for us to prove to ourselves that we are stronger than we think, smarter than we did, and more creative than we ever thought possible. We wouldn't be confronted with challenges if the Universe didn't believe that we could handle it. 

And its up to us to decide whether we want to be victims of a 

tragedy, or the hero of our life story.