"I had put so much time and hope
into being able to keep my parents together,
but I couldn't do it.
I was just a child."
-- Carole King
Audio version
[Classic post from 12-11-15]
I am listening to Carole King's autobiography, A Natural Woman, and when I heard her say the quote above it hit home with me. My parents were divorced when I was five and I was the eldest of three kids at the time. There were more marriages and divorces to come until I left home for good. So, I can relate to trying to keep parents together, and also to wanting to see them find happiness somewhere and stop taking it out on we kids.
Throughout my life, there were many situations and other people I wanted to change for many reasons, but alas, it was all a waste of time and energy. It wasn't until much later that I learned that there isn't anything that any of us can do to really change other people. Of course, there have been hundreds of generations of attempts and they still continue to this day for many, but I have learned that it simply isn't possible. That isn't our job and never was.
There is only one person that we can control in that way. It is ourselves. And, that project can take a lifetime of trial and error, leaving zero energy left for working on others.
Our best hope at change is to focus on what we can change and that is our own thinking, which creates our actions, which creates our circumstances and outcome. That's it. That's all there is. The rest is not our concern.
If You Consider That Selfish, You're Right. I Serve Others By My Attention To My Own Alignment.
Spread Some Joy Today--by finding the thoughts that create that joy within ourselves and in the finding of it, the sharing is no longer a concern. It can't be helped.
No comments:
Post a Comment