I watched a YouTube video that hit me right in the self-criticism. A neuropsychologist was chatting with a guest who admitted he’d carried around a silent rage for years—until therapy gave him a mirror. The well known guest was explaining to the neuropsychologist how he had been filled with an inner rage for as long as he could remember. He finally sought professional help to deal with his rage. He shared the strategy he received from therapy and said it worked for him. The strategy went something like this: Every time you get angry with yourself, stop and pretend you are angry with someone you know. Record the conversation with the other person as it happens on your phone. The guest discovered that he was much kinder to the person than he was with himself. Over time he became kinder and more compassionate with himself. The only person we can change is ourselves. Be kind, be compassionate, be forgiving to yourself and you’ll see the world with new eyes.
kind
Success is Simple
“If you work really hard, and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.” ~ Conan O’Brien
Poem for Today
Sonnet 105: Let not my love be called idolatry
William Shakespeare
Let not my love be called idolatry,
Nor my belovèd as an idol show,
Since all alike my songs and praises be
To one, of one, still such, and ever so.
Kind is my love today, tomorrow kind,
Still constant in a wondrous excellence;
Therefore my verse to constancy confined,
One thing expressing, leaves out difference.
“Fair, kind, and true” is all my argument,
“Fair, kind, and true” varying to other words;
And in this change is my invention spent,
Three themes in one, which wondrous scope affords.
Fair, kind, and true, have often lived alone.
Which three till now never kept seat in one.
Nor my belovèd as an idol show,
Since all alike my songs and praises be
To one, of one, still such, and ever so.
Kind is my love today, tomorrow kind,
Still constant in a wondrous excellence;
Therefore my verse to constancy confined,
One thing expressing, leaves out difference.
“Fair, kind, and true” is all my argument,
“Fair, kind, and true” varying to other words;
And in this change is my invention spent,
Three themes in one, which wondrous scope affords.
Fair, kind, and true, have often lived alone.
Which three till now never kept seat in one.
Think About It
One doesn’t have to be angry to be strong. One doesn’t haven’t to fear being kind and gentle is a sign of weakness. We’re strong when we face our troubles head on in spite of fears. We’re strong when we stand up and speak the truth as we know it even when we stand alone. We’re strong when we weep with another over a loss. We’re strong when we wrap our arms around our brothers and sisters who are suffering.
A Better Life ~ Begin By Forgiving Yourself
If you’re forgiving, kind and compassionate toward yourself, chances are very good you’re forgiving, kind and compassionate toward others. What we dislike or hate in ourselves we frequently project onto others. Take time to love the wonderful person you are.
Today’s Smile 😃
Alice Herz-Sommer was a Holocaust survivor who lived for 108 years. When asked how she could be happy after so much tragedy, she said, “I look for the good. I know there is bad, but I look for the good thing.”
Learning from Children
I see no color.
I see no race.
I see no religion.
I see a friend.
Photo by Edward Cisneros on Unsplash
