Metafizzics

It's a Difficult Life

That was not the title of a classic movie--but it might have been.  Jimmie Stewart (aka George Bailey) is surrounded from beginning to end by people who are (variously) mean, selfish, needy, thoughtless, careless, etc.  He never gets what he really wants, but in the end, he is so miserable that simple acceptance seems like heaven.

And everyone loves this movie because Jimmie learns the lesson that seems to pursue us all--whether it comes from the Buddha or the Capra . . .

Desire is the enemy of contentment.

PS:  From the double-bind department, though--how many people can you think of who are famous for their contentment?  Get back to me.  (And really, this post is not as unfizzy as it may seem.)

An unfizzy fact

At least three children die every day in our country due to abuse and neglect. 

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and there is much you can do to make a difference.   Visit ChildHelp to find out more. 

ChildHelp is especially active in providing help for healing to abuse survivors.  For another type of focus, find out what's happening at Prevent Child Abuse.  PCA is working to change the public perception of child abuse.  (People are mostly aware of child abuse through sensational publicity and extreme examples, but the reality is much more complex . . . ) 

For a more political strategy, and a broader context, try the Family Violence Prevention Fund.  Their site provides serious news, and information about innovative programs like Founding Fathers.

Finally--one easy thing you can do today:  Adorn your enevelopes with Stop Family Violence stamps.  They cost 47 cents instead of 39, but the difference goes to programs addressing domestic violence.  Find them at most post offices, or order them online--just click here!   

Tales from the Healing Path

Once upon a time, there was a princess who didn't understand herself very well.  Her life was not what she had wished for, and she chose actions that seemed to be absolutely necessary when she was thinking about them . . . but they always turned out to make things worse instead of better.  She felt rather miserable.

It seemed that whenever she got rid of one dragon, another would pop out of the woods.  And the "magic spell" (therapist, book, program, realization, etc.) that had dispatched the last dragon did not seem to work at all on the new one!  So although she made progress in some ways, the path still seemed so murky and twisted that the next part was always invisible.      

Then one day she happened upon a book by Nancy J. Napier called Getting Through the Day, and as soon as she opened it, she saw herself reflected there as if the book were a mirror.  The more she read, the more she seemed to make sense to herself--and after a while, she knew just what to do whenever a dragon appeared.

She gave the book to other people.  Some saw themselves, and others didn't, because their mirrors were somewhere else.  But if you feel miserable more than once in a while, you might want to look at Getting Through the Day, just in case! 

Even if you hardly ever feel miserable, you will find something to treasure in Nancy J. Napier's later book, Sacred Practices for Conscious Living.  And please visit her lovely website to discover meditations and daily practices that will enrich your journey, no matter what part of the path you are on.  (The princess especially likes the meditation called "Your Future Self.")   

Change of Heart

How to feel better?  How to keep going?  How to make the most of whatever you have?  How to create a dream, embrace a challenge, begin a journey?

Here's a very simple strategy:  Find something to fall in love with, every day. 

A flower, a book, a smile, a song, a joke, a room, flutters in the breeze, cool shoes, even a fear or a failure.  It could be anything.  Just look around--if you are looking for it, you will see it.   

You're not trying to find a lifelong romance, just a day's worth of passion.  But you can string those days together like pearls:  a week, a year . . . a lifetime.

Once you fall in love, the day changes.  Your heart changes. 

Just try it.

PS: Sometimes this is very hard, and sometimes it doesn't work at all.  But the more you try, the easier it seems.  (If you can't ever do it, though, you might want to review this post.)  To encourage your skills for the discovery of love objects, try keeping an online gratitude journal at Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance website, or purchase the handsome "real book" version at left.