- If our candidate needed to win in order for us to be happy, we signed up for the ultimate in misery––attaching our happiness to something we cannot control.
- If our candidate did win and we think that’s the reason we’re happy, we’re mistaken. Same if we think our crankiness is due to our person’s loss. Don’t be concerned. It takes most of us lifetimes to realize how impossible either scenario is.
- The most important thing to know about Trump is that he is not responsible for our feelings about him––whatever those feelings are.
- The same can be said about everyone else we’ve ever known.
- How we define our world creates our world. This principle is the root of our every judgment, our every opinion, our every resentment, our every joy.
- The human family’s addiction to drugs is nowhere near as harmful as our addiction to beliefs. And maybe our most malicious belief is that people and events cause how we feel, and thus how we respond.
- Saying “This makes me angry,” is another thing we do a million times until we realize that it’s impossible, and that we’re just trying to avoid taking responsibility for our fear and pain.
- Many things are harmful and call to be changed. But only we make them a burden.
- And when we do, we deny ourselves the gift inherent in every experience: the opportunity to grow our ability to respond with kindness and wisdom to whatever comes our way.
- With enthusiasm, even ferocity, we can fight for or against whatever our heart impels us to address without resentment, condescension, or hatred. Dr. King said one Christmas, “If we don’t have goodwill toward men in this world, we will destroy ourselves.”
- In fact, we needn’t fight “against” anything, but instead align our heart and mind with honoring and creating that which we hold sacred.
- To cultivate lasting happiness, even in the face of perpetual heartbreak, a useful mantra is the question: What am I trying to accomplish that I can control? Discovering and acting on our answers is pretty much all there is to a healthy life: one that doesn’t attach itself to the outcome of an election or any other endeavor, but rather focuses solely on the energy and integrity we invest in a noble aspiration, one that serves the entire human family. Having a peaceful heart, for instance.
How refreshing. Thanks, Steve. Sometimes I feel as if, with media as it is these days, we more resemble a school of fish trapped in a bubble net than independent, thinking individuals.
Amen. Beautifully said Steve, Sally
Thanks for the reminder, Steve!
Oh, my! You nailed it! Brilliant! Thank you so much!