Thoughts on Mindful Success: Avoiding Pyrrhic Victories

Great friends provide love, support, and advice that encourages you to be the better you. I had yet another beautiful conversation with a great friend in peace. She called just to remind that I am a Queen. That I am exactly where I need to be in my progress towards peace and success. Most importantly, she felt drawn to remind me to be mindful of the path I choice in  success. She hoped that I would meditate on building discernment between true victories/success and pseudo-victories (negative situations wearing a positive costume).

For those on the path to peace, success is inevitable. Simultaneously, success is a measure of our character and maturity. Through many personal encounters with the ebb & flow, the yin & yang, of success and failure; I have learned more than I have lost. Undoubtedly, the most important lesson I have learned is to graciously handle "defeat." Defeat can mean many different things to every individual. However, I believe that the peace-minded person will look at defeat as a relative concept, and not necessarily as a bad thing. Defeat, as we call it, can simply mean not getting what we think we want when we want it.  In this view, we should reflect on not getting what we want as part of a peaceful balance in our lives.

It is said that "when one door closes, another one opens." This is so true in our everyday being! How many times have you faced a situation in which not getting what you want has
A . allowed you to avoid some terrible mistake in the long-term also known as a (Pyrrhic victory \PIR-ik\; A victory achieved at too great a cost: loss of life, emotional well-being, or humanity)

B. given you the opportunity to learn, grow, and be prepared for something so much better? I know I have-MANY times.

So, for peace's sake, and in light of the discouraging social, economic, and political climate we often experience in the world around us-let us work to change our perceptions of success and defeat. Let us work towards seeing those two impostors as one in the same. Success is a very positive experience, but it is the path that we take to get there that matters most in the grander picture of our being.

The next time you encounter a road block to what you want, sit with the experience for a while and write down some of the pros and cons to getting what you wanted. Look within yourself and even speak to people you know and trust about their experiences with success and defeat. After looking at the situation from multiple perspectives, revisit your feelings about your "defeat." What, if anything, have you really lost? But more importantly, what have you gained? In taking this action towards positivity and peace, we open ourselves up to achieving true and long-lasting success.


And So it Is!

In Love & Peace☮,

The Light Within: Building Your Inner Light Reserve

We sometimes experience times when it seems as if darkness has been directly cast over our lives. At these times we can be tempted to look only outside of ourselves for the light that we seek. But, if we take time to cultivate and harness our our own inner light, then we can become our own source of illumination during these dark times. Practicing light-building activities during times of peace prepares us for victory in life's battles.


One way that I take advantage of peaceful and light-filled experiences if by keeping a peace journal. A peace journal can look any way you like and have any "theme" you desire. It's only set purpose is to hold your desires, ideas and activities that bring you peace, and your plans for manifesting peace.

For example, if visiting your local farmers market and setting aside a budget for fresh flowers (activities in my own my gratitude list), then you can journal about why those activities bring peace into your life. When you feel darkness setting in, reviewing the lists you have made and light-filled activities you have been a part of will remind your spirit that this too, truly shall pass. Although it can be hard to believe, our lives mimic nature, and in nature, the darkness and the light balance each other out. One is a reminder of why the other is so vital to that balance. However, sadness, sorrow, and chaos DO Not have to be part of that balance. As we build our inner peace and cultivate our light, we will find that the light outshines the darkness.




How to make your own journal by Curiously Crafty

 

And So It Is!☮

In Love and Peace,

And So It Is: Cultivating and Manifesting Peace in Our Lives

Resolved to have a peaceful and fulfilling experience today. Instead of meticulously planning out every detail from first light to glorious night, I decided to let this day flow through me and around me. I'd come to the conclusion that  the lack of order and intention in my world was responsible for my epic fail in inner peace 101. But, that is precisely the opposite of what's going on. In reality, constant worry about what might happen (anxiety) and inability to manifest tranquility because of that fear (procrastination), has turned my life into one big WHAT IF? Everyone can relate to "what ifs" syndrome, but few of us every examine the effects (and affect) that kind of thinking has on our ability to make peace within ourselves and in our world. Some truisms come to mind as ironically relevant illustrations of this point:

That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger

What you think means more than anything else in your life. More than what you earn, more than where you live, more than your social position, and more than what anyone else may think about you.

In addition to examining the literature, I'm adding some personal tips for beginning this journey to inner peace.

1. Cultivate an "AND SO IT IS" Attitude
There is a replacement or supplement (however you choose to look at it) for the traditional prayer ending, Amen that many people in the spiritual community practice. "And So It Is" is symbolizes the fact that what you've prayed for and/or meditated on is already part of the Universe. It is believed that whatever we send out in prayer, action ,and intention comes back to us (what goes around comes around-it's worded differently in every religion, but the essence remains the same). If we do, talk about, think about, and simply BE about positive things for ourselves and others, there is at least a better chance that those things will come into existence. Even if you don't believe that believing can make things come into being, isn't it much better to have positive things on your mind than the "what ifs" or "whoa is mes?"

2. Resolve to change the things that you can, acknowledge and let go of the things you absolutely cannot 


As much as I am the first one to believe in personal power to transform our own minds and external situations, there are those things that we simply CAN NOT change, no matter how hard we try or how hard we punish ourselves. Letting go of the unchangeable and superfluous aspects of our being allows for more time to focus on the things that we can change. Letting go is not always giving up when it gives us the opportunity to attend to what matters most.

The Serenity Prayer:

[Your Higher Power],

Grant me the serenity;

To accept the things I cannot change;

The courage, to change the things I can;

And the wisdom, to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace...

So that I may be supremely happy in this life

And supremely happy

Forever and ever in the next.

AND SO IT IS

Occupying your mind with positive activities seems easy enough, but the net gains are priceless. No activity is too small or "insignificant." Don't think that collecting stamps or watering your garden are not worthy spiritual building activities because they aren't yoga or meditation. Incorporating things into your life in that enrich and "Serenitize" YOUR BEING is the most important factor.

3. Don't feel forced to (blindly)*  follow anyone else's guidelines or prescription for a happy life.
There are many times in our lives when we feel unable to address an issue on our own. Perhaps we don't have the necessary experience to inform us about a solution. Or, we seek the guidance of someone who can not only provide information, nut can also serve as a support system along our journey (Think Dorothy trekking along the yellow brick road with the Tin Man, the Lion, and The Scarecrow). However, blindly and insecurely following the instructions of others simply because we doubt our own abilities or because that person seems to know more about something or in general than we do, can lead to unwelcome consequences.
     Remember that you are more powerful than you may be able to imagine, accept (right now), or can understand (at this moment). This power comes from your ability to make things happen within yourself and in the world around you
     ex. you may feel like a servant to BIG business or the government, but if you start writing letters of complaint about faulty products or practices, and use your sincerity and voice to organize others, you can change the way that business does business, or whether it does business at all. At the very least, you will influence a change of policy for your local branch of that BIG business.

*People you know, trust, and who have genuine experience with the goals that you seek to accomplish are great resources. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and support can greatly enhance your journey.

4. Eradicate Toxic Relationships!
This part of the post got deleted, so I will rewrite it later. Thanks for understanding :)

These are things that I've come to learn along my journey to inner peace, and I am definitely still learning and experiencing. Therefore, this post will be something to revisit. I hope this helps.

You alone decide what inner peace means and looks like to you. So, at the end of the
 day, nothing else matters besides making every day count in your book.

 

And So It Is!☮

In Love and Peace,