#553 Forgiveness & Emotional Intelligence

     “Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a better past.”

     “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.”

     “You can either practice being right or practice being kind.”


       Anne Lamott     http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/7113.Anne_Lamott 

#534 Heart of the Matter

     As I heard the news of more children killed & kidnapped in Nigeria by terrorists, I could feel my heart area tighten & harden. I knew that if I allowed the momentum of that well-worn emotional story line to continue, I'd be cheering on those people who'll be hunting these terrorists down. But this trajectory only adds to our suffering. We can't eliminate "evil" by eliminating people who do terrible things. For thousands of years we've been proving that "an eye-for-an-eye" (or worse) predictably perpetuates or escalates violence & hatred. "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Albert Einstein

     We're trying to evolve into conscious, rational, civilized human beings. Our practice is to first & foremost let go of our own hard-heartedness, and stabilize our own mind-heart in the open position. Our practice is not to be critically selective about whom we love & help, but to nurture all people, critters, things & places. See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/06/140-love.html

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, May 4, 2014

#533 How to Keep from Becoming Frustrated? - Part 2

     As we continue to practice mindfulness, we become able to see our thought patterns more & more clearly and objectively. We start monitoring our thoughts, emotions, speech & behavior AND the consequences of each of these.
     What precisely does my prolonged feeling of these (below) accomplish?: 
          • down, angry, hopeless, revengeful, righteous, etc about "my world's situation"
          • guilt for not saving "my world"
          • revengeful over the injustices suffered by "my ancestors"
          • anger & hatred towards "the enemies of my people"
          • anger & hatred towards "my enemies"
          • judgmental & hatred towards those who don't live up to "my standards"

     What proportion of our FINITE energy & lifetime do the above dysfunctional habits of mind bleed out of us? Being "frustrated" is a massive waste of time & energy. For some, it's a huge part of their cultural identity to wallow in such emotional swamps. Some of these unfortunates inevitably act out, causing wide-scale suffering - and what good comes of these?
     Being frustrated, indignant, angry, revengeful, etc is useless dysfunctional posturing. Life's short & precious - HELP REDUCE SUFFERING & INCREASE JOY - for yourself & others. Positive change must & CAN start within each one of us.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 3, 2014