“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens" Kahlil Gibran
"Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action"
Benjamin Disraeli
Both ring true. Both applicable to me, and most people. I have always loved Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" and own a copy given to me by a friend. I truly try to live by these words of wisdom. It is almost saying that mistakes are to be expected, they are lessons. They are only accepted based on how effectively learn and respond to them.
The latter quote brings to the forefront of my mind the reality that so many fail to accept.... that to do nothing is also an action and a choice. At some point we have to stop and ask ourselves if truly we are moving forward or simply perpetuating the same status quo. But, we all know (even if we do not admit it) that you cannot do the same as always and expect a different outcome! So often I hear complaints, woes, stories about someone's life. While I am a highly empathetic person, I often think that perhaps this person is failing to learn the lesson at hand and failing themselves by not taking ownership to take action. While I understand that action often equals change, and change for most is terrifying.... stop expecting others to fix YOU and YOUR situation. It never seems a 'perfect time' for action, but we make choices anyway. To change jobs, have kids, get married, divorced, start being healthy, quitting bad habits....
Why not start taking responsibility for your own happiness too? Like we do our education, our jobs, our children? Face reality, once step at a time. Terrifying, believe me I know! But, by opening myself up to what is out there for me I am opening up to taking the risk of letting myself finally be happy. Recognizing that I am worthy of being happy too.
