Daily Inspiration 8-8-12

"On the way to work, concentrate on the way, not on the work . . ." -- Jim Rohn Today I heard the word frustrated. It is a word I have known all to well in my life. I've used it often and yet never looked it up. Today I did, just for kicks. It's origin is the mid-15th century and means to deceive, disappoint, and in vain, or in error. As a verb, it is used to hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of one, or to upset, agitate, or tire. All that seems perfectly clear, but how I've always thought of the word was disappointment. In recent years, I've found a better way to understand the word and the feeling that exists when frustration is experienced. It is this: frustration is purely a judgement word. I am making judgement on a situation. I am judging that the situation, circumstances or events are not to my liking, so I judge that I do not like being in this space at this time. In addition, I typically make a judgement of guilt. This means that someone is to blame for this condition, and it is pretty much never my fault. It is not necessarily a conspiracy, although it certainly can feel like that. So I am here experiencing not wanting to be here and someone else is to blame and that makes me not want to be here more, and I feel like I can't do anything about it, or rather, the things I could do about it are in vain or of no avail. Consequently, it is like going around in a circle over and over again. I used to be upset for many hours about situations like this I found myself in. Sometimes it might last days, or weeks. I would even share it with my friends for some sort of sympathy, but that never really seemed to help. As I've learned from Eckhart Tolle and The Power of Now, the way to solve this is to fully accept the now without judgement. It is what it is. I love that phrase. It is what it is. When I accept without judgement, there is no escalation of emotions, I can see the situation as just that--a current situation. At this point, I can deal with it in whatever way I can at the present moment. If it is not something that can be dealt with immediately, then I don't escalate it beyond what it really is and just do the best I can with what I have right now. Frustration only comes from judging that I am not where I want to be or that something is not what I want it to be and I feel that it is keeping me from having what I want and this creates the feeling of frustration. But, by just chilling for a few moments to accept the situation in all its glory as what it is without making it into something it isn't, I can move along nicely, and perhaps even work though it effectively.

I Always Get To Choose How I Will Feel. I Judge.   Spread Some Joy Today--At least for a part of the day, try not judging anything. Let it be as it is and not something more. Let people be who they are and not someone else.