As the new year approaches we are encouraged to think about ourselves. Our accomplishments, failures, goals, resolutions etc....as I thought about these things, I was lead to the following excerpt from one of my favorite books...
Enjoy it, and may everyday of the next year bring some form of joy into your life.
Prelude to a New Dream
There are thousands of agreements you have made with yourself, with your dream of life, with God, with society, with your parents, with your spouse, with your children. But the most important agreements are the ones you made with yourself. In these agreements you tell yourself who you are, what you feel, what you believe, and how to behave. The result is what you call your personality. In these agreements you say, "This is what I am. This is what I believe. I can do certain things and some things I cannot do. This is reality; that is fantasy, this is possible, that is impossible."One single agreement is not such a problem but we have many agreements that make us suffer, that make us fail in life. If you want to live a life of joy and fulfillment, you have to find the courage to break those agreements that are fear-based and claim your personal power. The agreements that come from fear require us to expend a lot of energy, but the agreements that come from love help us to conserve energy and even gain extra energy.
-The Four Agreements
by Don Miguel Ruiz
3 comments:
Agreements from Love or from Fear. I like to think that I have made progress here. I like to think that I make my decisions out of love. I can see in other people when they are acting, deciding, creating things out of fear. Not so easy to see in myself. When I am at a crossroads about how to move forward I try to base my decision out of love. But the waters get muddy. If I love myself and take care of myself, do I turn this way? Or if I love myself and am happy, do I stay in today's love? If I stay in today and only focus on decisions that effect today, I know I am in the right place. As soon as I skip to the future, as soon as I start to wonder how things will turn out, fear creeps in. Then I am paralyzed in today. In my head things are ending anyway so why not just ruin it today and leave - save myself the futre of hurt. Now, the healthy way to think, making an agreement with myself out of love, tells me to stay and enjoy this moment. He is staying, he is here, he wants to get married to me even. Out future looks different to each of us. Very, very different. But all my moments lately have been good. I have never been able to live in the moment and my current relationship is forcing me to do just that. I learn this lesson each day.
Espicially with my family and all their love and expectations and judgement. I love my family and I will enjoy my moments with Jim and my mother, even in the same room!
Gabi, I can't wait to see you when I get back. We'll go to Cibo and laugh.
Talk to you soon,
Sadie
That's a great quote Gabi - thanks for sharing.
L, K
please write another blog! i am in detroit and watch your column at least twice a day... miss you gabi.
s
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