Reaction

I'm so grateful this morning to wake with clarity. I'm grateful for the reminder that I choose what my world looks like and how I will react to it. The difference between a joyous person and a unhappy person is not in what happened to them but in how they chose to respond to those events. Actions and events in themselves have little to no meaning until we decide what meaning to give them. I'm grateful to give myself a check and look, not at what has happened but at my reaction to what happened. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."- Eleanor Roosevelt "It's not what happens to you but how you react that matters."- Epictetus  There are hundreds to thousands of quotes to remind us of this but these are two of my favorites. They represent the simple truths that I strive to live by. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to have this lesson showed to me again in a couple different ways. Often it is the ones closest to us that are our best teachers. They generally go by the names of family. And in yesterday's case my first response was to REACT in defensiveness and even judgement. But as I sat with it I recognized that that was not truly the response I wanted in my heart. I do not want to hold judgement against anyone. The fear I was reacting to was the perceived attack against those with different beliefs and my reaction was to defend. Perhaps it is the Jewish Community Center shooting that hit so close to home and broke so many hearts or perhaps it is my own heart breaking when I hear words not spoken in love by the ones I love but whatever the cause, I reacted. I'm grateful for the ability to make amends when I am wrong. I'm grateful to see that while what I spoke was my truth it was spoken from fear and judgement and therefore no different from the other judgement being cast. I'm grateful to see this and apologize so that I may use it as a learning and growing experience. I'm grateful to rebalance and find the peace in my heart that is always waiting. I'm grateful for the beautiful day I had yesterday and the beautiful day that awaits me today. I'm grateful to focus on love today. I'm grateful to believe we are one heart bound with one love. What do you believe? When do you find yourself reacting and when do you feel balanced in love?  "You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one."-  John Lennon (Imagine) Namasté