Awaken To Joy

Anger: Rise Above

"We truly believe you can rise up above anger. That is not to say we rise up above all of our anger. We are still human and, as such, anger will appear. But with a higher consciousness, we are able to see more perspectives; we understand more, therefore we are able to choose different avenues than anger. After all, traffic is merely a whole bunch of cars going the same direction you are; a slow line at the grocery store is just other people who are also buying groceries for their families; and children make mistakes all the time, as do we all. " ~ Awaken to Joy program

Today, at least for today, think of yourself as a better person. The kind of person who can put yourself in another person's shoes and imagine what they must be going through. Right now, in this world, there are a lot of people who are hurting. They are hurting because they are afraid. They are hurting because they are hungry. They are hurting because they are confused and don't know what will happen next. Take stock of your life and be grateful for everything you do have. Step away from your pride and ego and let yourself be the calm one or the compassionate one. Be the one that helps another human being simply because you can.

Humans have a tremendous ability to rush to the aid of others in traumatic situations- a baby in a well, hurricane victims, cancer patients, plane crashes. Yet if we don't visibly see the source of suffering we allow ourselves to get irritated if people don't act the way we want them to. Enough is enough. Just for today reach out to someone, ANY ONE. Be a better person than you normally are.

Feeding My Deeper Self

“If you can bring yourself back to the present moment for just an instant
and pause to see how your food aligns with you deep in your core,
you'll find you have an unfailing tool for knowing what is truly healthy and satisfying for you.” 
~ YJ enewsletter

(Laura) This quote was the one I used in last week's insirational enewsletter.  It really affected me and I made a powerful shift as a result.  I realized I often have times when (in Marya’s words), I grab-whatever-I-can-because-I-am-starving and then I am left unsatisfied.  I often overeat on those situations because I am still trying to satisfy what I am needing.  This past week, I have been pausing to see what food will align with my deep core, what will truly satisfy me.  I don’t think I have ever been as fully satisfied as I have been this week.  Powerful!  There have been times when that craving was for ice cream and I enjoyed every last bite.  (And I only needed a few bites to be fully satisfied.) 

Here is a great quote from a participant that I have also found to be powerful:

"I took the time to understand the challenges that I am
facing in my life right now and I feed those challenges with proper nourishment."