The following appealed to me as a post, because of things in my past that have caused me, too much of time, to be in the negative space described:
- “First keep thyself in peace, and then shalt thou be able to be a peacemaker to others. A peaceable man doth more good than a well-learned. A passionate man turneth even good into evil and easily believeth evil; a good, peaceable man converteth all things into good. He who dwelleth in peace is suspicious of none, but he who is discontented and restless is tossed with many suspicions, and is neither quiet himself or suffereth others to be quiet. He often saith what he ought not to say, and ommiteth what it were more expedient for him to do. He considereth to what duties others are bound, and neglecteth those to which he is bound himself. Therefore be zealous first over thyself, and then mayest thou righteously be zealous concerning thy neighbour…. There are those who keep themselves in peace and keep peace also with others, and there are those who neither have peace nor suffer others to have peace; they are troublesome to others, but always more troublesome to themselves. And there are those who hold themselves in peace, and study to bring others into peace; nevertheless, all our peace in this sad life lieth in humble suffering rather than in not feeling adversities. He who best knoweth how to suffer shall possess the most peace; that man is conqueror of himself and lord of the world, the friend of Christ, and the inheritor of heaven.” ~ Thomas Kempis
Finally… recently and so late in life (relatively speaking), I went through many hours of psychological testing to find out what ‘is really going on’. The results revealed a number of unresolved issues, (physical, psychological) that, faced and treated, could make me much more positive, proactive. Those issues had me making a self analysis ‘wisecrack’ about where I am to my GP …who then said ‘we’ll go a (remedial) step at a time and see where it takes us’. That 1st step has made huge changes in my thinking in a very short time. I often write or choose quotes from a very personal point of view, realizing that where things are amiss in my life there are likely others in this blog’s audience who are ‘in similar space’. kdm
And… “In vain do they talk of happiness who never subdued an impulse in obedience to principle. He who never sacrificed a present to a future good, or a personal to a general one, can speak of happiness only as the blind do of colors.” ~ Horace Mann
