You have 1440 minutes today! What are you going to do with it?

Isn’t it exciting? We get 24 hours every day to start again. Charlotte Moss says:

Each day you create yourself anew through choice.

Every choice you make today is like an artist adding one more dash of paint to a master piece. So what picture does your choices portray?

This idea is rather intimidating. Because since Friday I have chosen not to work on my research proposal. I have chosen instead to watch television, to eat Easter eggs and to read. And then I beat myself up about it. Because it is also school holiday. Instead of doing proactive work – facing my insecurities about my work and spending quality time with my son – I wasted my time. (Jean Auel’s last Ayla book really was a let-down). My choices thus resulted in a dissatisfied, grumpy, overweight, bad mother.

My son overheard me telling his father that I find people and holidays hard to deal when I’m in this state. He wrote me a letter:

Ek sal jou uitlos (I will leave you alone)
Ek het jou gehoor (I heard you)
Ek sal dit self doen (I’ll do it on my own)

My choices resulted in me hurting his feelings. I’m so glad he did not follow my example. He chose to confront me. He chose to do something about the thing/person that made him feel bad.

No matter which route you take, within 24 hours the day will be over – Sarah Ban Breathnach.

The Mind of the Soul

I’ve just finished reading The Mind of the Soul: Responsible Choice by Gary Zukav and Linda Francis.

My favourite quotes are:

“You cannot gain strength from choices that do not stretch you” on page 193 and “The greatest gift you have to share is your presence” on page 170.

Here’s some other things that resonated with me:

About choices:

• “What you choose, is what you create” (p. 4). They say that until you see that your experiences are consequences of your choices, you’ll belief that things are good or bad and then basically have the attitude of a victim (p. 7). Related to a quote from King Fu Panda: “There is no bad news. There is only news.” 🙂
• “… a temptation is a chance to choose responsibly.” (p. 188).
• “Every choice you make brings a possible future into your reality.” (p. 195). I’m sure Terry Pratchett wrote about the trousers of time somewhere!

About power:

• “Powerlessness is the fear of not being lovable, not being valuable, not being a part of Life, and not being able to contribute to Life.” (p. 106).
• “Authentic power cannot be lost or stolen, and no one can take it from you.” (p. 153).

About harmony:

• “Harmony only with those who look, think, speak, and act like you is not true harmony, but the maintenance of a clique.” (p. 131).
• “Creating harmony requires the courage to fail the expectations of others, to object when you feel an objection is appropriate, and to say no, yes, and maybe, without expectation.” (p. 137).
• “The more you need people to agree with you, the less open you are to what they think, feel, and believe.” (p. 162).

About hoarding (e.g. eating too much):

• “The parts of your personality that are frightened hoard anything they feel will benefit themselves, whether it is knowledge, affection, spare parts, or food. No matter how much they have, they fear not having enough ‑ for example, enough time to complete a project so they become angry when interrupted, or enough affection so they become jealous when others receive it, etc.” (p. 164)
• “The solution is not to increase our accumulation, but to assess more accurately what is needed ‑ this is difficult when you are frightened.” (p. 164).
• “Internal abundance is realizing you are worthy of your life, recognizing the potential for spiritual growth your struggles offer you, and trusting the Universe.” (p. 166).