More Thoughts!

When we were in Cape Cod I saw a councilor who I really thought the world of and he taught me a lot in a very short time. He seemed like one of those people who has spent a lot of time searching for his soul or zen or whatever you might call it. He's Jewish and I loved his perspective on the Savior and how he knows that we as Christians talk about loving one another but we have such a hard time loving ourselves. This has to come first. Self love is really, really hard because we are so critical of ourselves and we see our every flaw and imperfection.

He always had wonderful stories and antidotes to tell me and I hope I don't butcher them but I'd like to share a couple.

One of the things he always told me was to learn to observe instead of push away, push down, forget.....just observe....learn to say...."okay....yeah....I am frustrated, I am sad, I am angry, I am whatever I am".....acknowledge it, and then go from there. It's kind of like if we think if we pretend something isn't really isn't there....we think it really won't be but reality is...it is there. So hey...acknowledge it...and then move forward.

On that same note...he gave me an analogy. He said one day...."what happens when there is a muddy, stinky puddle of water on the ground and we just throw a tarp over it to try to cover it up to make it appear as if it's not there?" To that I replied..."well, it gets gross, and green, and nastier under there."
Then he said...."What happens if you just let the puddle alone, and let it be where the sun can shine down on it?" And I said...."Eventually, it'll dry up and you'll never know it was there....there might be a small hint of it but it won't be such a muddy mess."

Lastly.....he told me a little story...and I might mess it up but you'll get the gist of it.

He said...Napoleon and his Generals were high on there horses riding up and down inspecting thousands of troops before a huge battle they were going to fight. It was very cold and conditions were bad and odds weren't favorable. They came to a man who was standing there shaking and crying but not out of formation. Napoleon stopped and got down off his horse and walked up to the man and spoke to him. Napoleon's other General could not hear the conversation but was irritated that it was holding up the march. He noticed Napoleon take his warm coat and wrap it around the man, pat his shoulders and then he left him climbed back on his horse and the march continued. The General could not stand it any longer and and finally asked what Napoleon had said to that "blithering coward". Napoleon answered him..."That is not a blithering coward. That is the bravest man I know. The bravest man I know is one who knows what his fears are yet continues to march forward in the face of them."

So I am trying to march...........................