I have been reading Wayne Dyer's latest book, Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life. It's his interpretation of the Tao Te Ching. It has a ton of words of wisdom in it and I have been trying to put it into practice although it has not been easy.
One of the things I am becoming aware of is the fact that I get easily frustrated when I am in a slow line at the store or behind a slow car on the road. It seems that I am always in a rush to get somewhere and invariably I get stuck behind someone that is not in the same hurry as I am. Actually, after reading the book, I am developing awareness of the fact that I am frustrated several times a day. I am also learning from this book to not pass judgment on these people, to surrender and let it go. Not easy to do but I am working at it.
Another issue that comes up is when people try to copy what I am doing ( and they end up doing it much better than me), whether it's things that I have done to my house or my art and etc. Copying is supposed to be the greatest form of flattery but I have trouble seeing it that way. I realized it has its roots in my past. There was a lot of sibling rivalry growing up and jealousy was a big part of it. I'm beginning to see that it's all about my issues and my insecurities. This has been the hardest concept to grasp. According to Dyer's Tao, our society is built on outdoing everyone else and being "noticed". By choosing the path called the "wisdom of obscurity", it allows you to eliminate competition and retreat into quiet strength. This releases your need to be more anything in the eyes of others.
I am also learning about "less is more" that I don't need to have so many materialistic things. Another teaching of the Tao is that success is really about the person who is centered and can have peace and harmony in the face of chaos and turmoil. I would love to get to that point. There are so many great teachings in the book that can help one live a happy, meaningful and peaceful life. You can be sure, I will be reading this book many times over.
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2 comments:
Peace is good. Hard to incorporate them as part of your unconscious thought processes. But - definitely worth the effort!
My mother-in-law called me a type A personality. I don't think I am that extreme but I think if I can go with the flow, it will be much better for me, healthwise. So yes, incorporating more peace and harmony into my life is something I will keep working at.
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