I Love Quotes - Nelson Mandela - The walk to freedom

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere,
and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
                                                    ~ Nelson Mandela




Nelson Mandela celebrated his 93rd birthday last week so a quote from him seems appropriate.
I think that when we really have to work towards attaining the things or circumstances we desire, we value and appreciate them all the more.
Life would not be exciting or fulfilling if everything we ever wanted was presented to us on a platter.
Thank You Nelson Mandela. Whenever I have to walk the hard road, I will remember this quote.

Question of the day - How do you find the strength to take the difficult path?

   Finding Strength to take the difficult path - a difficult question to answer




I tried to identify some moments in my life when I've had to take a difficult path and found there were several. But the following, I think, illustrate the different "strengths" that helped me walk the difficult path:

Emigrating to a new country

Leaving my home and moving to a new country was a daunting prospect for me. I had absolutely no idea what was in store for me. Besides which, I loved living in the country of my birth and leaving family and friends behind was an extremely sad event for me. But I believed that emigrating would provide my children with better opportunities and a less stressful life. Wanting the best for your child is such a great motivator and it gives you the strength and courage to do things you never thought you could do.

The death of my father

Letting go and allowing my father to pass away peacefully is the hardest decision I have made in my life to date. Watching him struggle in the last hours of his life was heartbreaking. I was very close to my dad and though as he grew older I silently prepared for the day when I would have to say goodbye to him, you are never really prepared. Letting him go in peace was the most loving thing I could do even though it broke my heart. Love gives you immense strength.

An ended relationship

Sad, angry, lonely and very, very scared do not begin to describe the emotions I went through when my 28 year relationship ended. I had immense support from my family and friends but I also had the faith that the end came for a reason and that things always happen for the best. Someday I know I will share life with the man of my dreams, my beautiful soulmate. Faith gives me strength to go on.

Taking a stand against bullying

Taking a stand against someone in a position of power is not an easy thing to do. But I tell myself in those events ... "we do not come to work to be abused and insulted. It is my human right to be treated with dignity and respect." Sometimes I feel the fear, sometimes I don't but in all circumstances, those words give me the courage to fight back. Courage and self respect give you great strength.

When I feel I am out of my depth

About 12 years ago I was given a huge project to manage at work. I had never managed a project of this scale and I know as I walked out of my managers office the words going through my mind were ... Oh my God, I am completely out of my depth here. But I love a challenge and an opportunity to learn and grow so rapidly was thrilling and exciting. I also had a manager who supported me, had the faith and trust in me, and above all encouraged me every step of the way. Encouragement gives you great strength. And when someone puts their faith and trust in you, you find the will and the way to never let them down.

Question of the day - Who do you need to forgive?

So who do I need to forgive?

I thought about this a lot as there are so many instances where people have seemingly committed injustices (small or big) towards me (or so I think) or where an action towards someone else has affected me.

But reality is that what I deem to be an injustice, the other may deem to be a necessity.

So how then does forgiveness work?

I have to take a spiritual perspective on this.

Mother Teresa summed it up well; "In the end it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway".

If we take the wisdom from Mother Teresa then the only person I need to forgive is myself.

This however raises several questions ....

Does this mean that by default I also take responsibility for the actions of others? That seems completely unfair and illogical.

Or does this mean that I only forgive myself for my actions and take no responsibility for others? That unfortunately leaves me with the inability to move on as I am now stuck with an action I cannot forgive.

In the end, my only recourse to forgiving myself for my own misdeeds and for the misdeeds of others was to understand that forgiving does not mean that I overlook or dismiss the action (whether it be mine or someone else's).

To forgive myself for an act I have committed also means that I take responsibility to not repeat that act again.

To forgive myself for an act someone else has committed towards me or for one that was committed towards another but affected me in some way, does not mean I take responsibility for the act, only the responsibility that it affected me in some way. In other words, I forgive myself for being affected. And having forgiven myself, I now have the ability to detach from that incident.

In both instances (my acts and acts of others where I am affected directly or indirectly), I take responsibility to understand that there may be a lesson in it for me and learn the lesson when I identify it. I also take responsibility to understand the reason for the action. I may not agree with the reason, but having understood the reason, I can then let it go.

Have a peaceful day

Warm Regards
Suzy.

Adversity is a catalyst

Adversity strikes suddenly. How we react to it is entirely upto us.

I have been single for the last three years after a 28 year relationship ended. I have had two health scares (luckily turned out to be non events in the end) and I have been made redundant thrice. I have lost people so dear to my heart via death as recently as a year ago. And again I find myself in-between jobs. It's not an easy time in my life.



I would love to have the job of my dreams, financial freedom, abundance in all aspects of my life, and a soulmate to love, cherish and share life with.

I have read an endless list of books, blogs, articles, tweets, FB posts, listened to lectures, vlogs, all conveying the message that the Universe will provide, that we should have the faith, focus on the positive, set the intention etc. After all we attract into our lives what our thoughts focus on.

I know that all of these are true and I am grateful and give thanks that these wonderful people have shared their stories, wisdom and successes with us. A lot of what I have learned and practise is through their works. But in reality we simply cannot sustain the positive frame of mind constantly.

I keep my spirits high and I try to look on the bright side of life. I know the Universe has a plan and I must wait patiently but there are days when I go through intense fear, loneliness and sadness and there are other days when the hope comes shining through only to be dashed again.

So how do I cope?

I allow myself to feel the sadness, loneliness, fear, and sometimes even anger. I know that only when I allow myself to feel, can I heal. I tell myself that it's okay to feel afraid, sad, abandoned, lonely, and angry. Because eventually I know I will move into a happier and positive space.

So how do I move into the happier and positive space?

I take action.

Adversity is a catalyst for action. Often one you never dreamed you would do.

The action I take is not necessarily big. Sometimes doing nothing or inaction is also action. There are days when looking for a job becomes too stressful so on those days I just take a break and do nothing about the job search. Instead I send a prayer to the Universe for help and then I just blob - with a book, TV, blogs whatever I feel like on that day.

The point I make here is that it is okay for me to feel low as long as I take action to move out of it. And when I am inspired to do something I urge myself to - Just do it.

This blog is one of those actions - a just do it and something I never dreamed I would do. Writing helps me project what I feel. It helps me detach temporarily from the situation and provide some breathing space. Then I can deal with the situation a whole lot better.

I was Divinely inspired and led to start this blog. I have been blogging for just over a year via a private blog. I was guided to write a public blog. And it's scary. Sharing your words with people you know is entirely different to sharing with the wide world. I don't know why or where it will lead. All I know is that I must "Just do it" even if I feel the fear. And that if even one person is helped by what I write, I will have made a difference.

So I will trust the Universe that it knows what I must do and I will write as I am guided by it.

I hope it will bring inspiration and comfort to those who need it.

Love and hugs,
Suzy.