All people dream, but not equally.
Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind,
Wake in the morning to find that it was vanity.
But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people,
For they dream their dreams with open eyes,
And make them come true.
Believe there are no limits but the sky. ~ Miguel de Cervantes
Don’t let naysayers, critics, or false beliefs drag you down. Everything is possible.
What holds you back from experiencing life more fully? I’m not speaking about one’s context, job, or financial situation. Within those constraints, what holds you back from experiencing life more fully? Discovering this is an inside job where we need the courage to look within ourselves and name the fears, biases, or false beliefs that we allow to guide our lives. It’s not a thirty minute job. It may take a while. If we keep the question, “What holds me back from experiencing life more fully?” we will discover the answers. Once we discover the answers, we can discard what is holding us back and begin to experience life more fully.
One of the best ways to increase our chances of being happy is to identify and set personal boundaries. One question to ask ourselves is, who is setting my boundaries. The answer may not be obvious but it may be a parent. It could be siblings or friends. It could be irrelevant and false beliefs. When we let other people tell us what to do and when to do it, we lose our sense of personal freedom and along with it any chance of happiness. If we examine our lives we may discover that our lives are guided by beliefs others have passed on to us that are no longer relevant. It’s good to ask ourselves, “why am I doing this?” When we can determine this is who I am and who I want to be, this is not who I am and others want me to be” our boundaries begin to fall in place.
Edward Sanford Marton
Submit to pressure from your peers and you move down to their level.
Speak up for your own beliefs and you invite them up to your level.
If you move with the crowd, you’ll get to further than the crowd.
When 40 million people believe in a dumb idea, it’s still a dumb idea.
Simply swimming with the tide leaves you nowhere.
So if you believe in something that’s good, honest, and bright–—stand up for it.
Maybe your peers will get smart and drift your way.
Within my earthly temple there’s a crowd;
There’s one of us that’s humble, one that’s proud,
There’s one that’s broken-hearted for his sins,
There’s one that unrepentant sits and grins;
There’s one that loves his neighbor as himself,
And one that cares for naught but fame and pelf.
From such corroding care I should be free
If I could once determine whish is me!
Ever come across people who say one thing but then do another? I have, lots of times. I’ve met so many I’ve learned to watch what they do, how they treat people, and what they’re willing to work for before I’ll decide if I want to get closer. Lots of church going people, for example, can quote their holy books, but watch out when they pull out of the parking lot. You get the idea. A good rule of thumb to follow, see if what a person says matches what he/she does before you get too close.
When we get trapped into a narrow world view we begin to see all others who don’t share our world view as misinformed, not smart, or bad. One way to prevent being trapped by a narrow world view is to dive deep into our self. When we begin to question our personal thoughts and beliefs we place them under scrutiny. Here’s an example from my past. When I was living with my parents, I was about 16 years old, my dad had an ethnic pecking order. Italians, of course, were at the top of the pecking order. Near the bottom of the pecking were the Portuguese. One Sunday, after mass, my dad praised the priest for the serman he gave. I don’t know where I got the courage but I said, Father Viera is Portuguese. I wasn’t sure if I crossed a line. Then he shook his head. From that day on he never said a negative word about the Portuguese at least in my presence. I think the facts confronted his bias and he recognized the fallacy of his thinking.
”Nothing binds you except your thoughts; nothing limits you except your fear; and nothing controls you except your beliefs.
Believing things are impossible or that we are not worthy of good things are chains that bind us. We have the key to unlock our chains. When we discard false beliefs and embrace new, empowering beliefs we insert the key into the lock and free ourselves from the chains that bind us.
