Monday, June 13, 2016

The Light Between Oceans by L Stedman

….Knowing that the light will reappear
A powerful closing line to a moving book. What a love story! A story of pain, misdeeds and of redemption.
I struggled with the last third of the book, as the mire became deeper and muddier, for I did not foresee any resolution, any end of pain, any future, any redemption. So tonight since I couldn't sleep I decided to plunge forward, finish the read, even if it depressed me. 

I was surprised by the redemption of forgiving versus resenting, and seeing them be able to successfully find coping and a future in the midst of , or despite their pain and  through their trials. 
It's a hard , emotionally so, read. I'm surprised I did not bail and toss it - which would have been a shame?


Great quotes to ponder, all from the last 20 or so pages
"How can you just get over these things how do you do it ? I choose to he said. I can leave myself to rot in the past spend my time hating people for what happened , or I can forgive and forget. But it's not that easy; but it is so much less exhausting ;and you only have to forgive once to resent you have to do it all day every day. You have to keep remembering all the bad things.”  
“We always have a choice.”
“ There is no going back. There is no undoing what happened. I've learned the hard way that to have any kind of future you have to give up hope of ever changing your past.”
“ We put things right as well as we can that's all we can do. We have to live with things the way they are now”
“. .... A Droplet of nectar you taste for only a second...”
“ He watches the Ocean surrender to night , knowing that the light will reappear"

Worthy of the time spent reading and pondering its message.

Monday, June 6, 2016

The top five regrets of the dying by Bronnie Ware

The top five regrets of the dying by Bronnie Ware

The title does not attract me. My inclination would be to skip the book , however it came on recommendation -so . It is  a soft science self discovery look into finding meaning in life and in finding those key things one should take care of:
1-courage to live the life meant to have , not the life of others expections
-regardless of what others say or think
- it's about having the courage  to be you regardless

2-work with purpose and intent in simplicity not obsessive working hard
-The best way to make the most out of life is to appreciate the gift of it and not chose to be a victim

3- courage to express your real feelings no guilt

4-stay in touch with friends

5- Love myself to be happy find joy in the moment
- happiness is a choice
-in the freedom to choose what we focus on
-blessings come to me more when I'm in a place of gratitude and flow
- gratitude for every day along the way is the key to it acknowledging and enjoying happiness now . Not when the results come in or when you retire with this or that happens.
- have a heart that's open and smiling it's a good life
-cycles of life will bring challenging times
- need to find a place of self-love
- it is the heart that guides you to joy not the mind (Buddha commented "the mind knows no answers the heart knows no questions")

Finding joy

So how do you find joy in tumultuous and challenging times- when life happens:
Big view - those times when I am with Family- just one of them , or with several of them or with all of them . Each  of those are times when I find joy. I also find joy when my kids  getting together and they are  loving each other like recently in Wisconsin

In the temple - whether that's the weekly service as a worker or  when we attend the temple as patrons I find joy in the temple

Partaking of the  the sacrament - I know that should / can be weekly but in reality that just comes at times when I'm prepared to take the sacrament and I focus

Prayer again that could be daily but it is what happens when I focus and I ponder and I make it meaningful

Daily scripture study almost always is an  experience for me to find true joy

So even when things are hard I can find joy in a regular basis monthly weekly or daily. I can insert my day with joy of the spirit.

The book didn't go I there but my thoughts did . Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.






Sent from tim wilson