Morning Notes. Hugh Prather
stay conscious of the sentence layer of my mind, which tends to focus narrowly on who or what needs to change. In wanting to control, I am automatically controlled. Instead I will extend freedom by putting no pressure on other people and making no attempt to micromanage events. I will do what I do with flexibility and ease and a steady, peaceful awareness.
48
If I don't need anything from you, I am free to think of you in peace.
The moment I want something from another person, my happiness is compromised. Each time I try to influence someone, I set myself up as a victim, because it's impossible to get perfect cooperation from anyone. Today I will observe that I survive just fine without my expectations being met or my demands obeyed. In fact, in letting go, I am left with the peace that is already mine.
49
Every hour I am focused on the future, I suffer an hour's loss of this life.
Clearly, to dwell on the future or the past is to avoid living now. The present can be scary because so often it's associated with emotional or physical pain. Pain may be a means of bringing one back to the present, but it is not the only means. Stillness is also centered in now, but a now of an entirely different sort. The quiet now is very broad and reliable. It contains no dread, no jolting interruptions, and no abrupt beginnings. Beauty shines from ever y aspect, and peace is the gift both given and received.
50
The longest strides come from standing still.
The paradox of progress is that we grow each time we realize that we can only be where we are. I can't fail to grow in happiness, wholeness, generosity, and inner strength when I am quieter mentally, more peaceful, and above all, more present.
51
I will give peace with my thoughts and cause no harm with my words.
We enter the awareness of many people in the course of a day. With each encounter there is a little exchange, and we leave something behind. This trail, and not our individual accomplishments, is our legacy to the world. At the end of my life, what tracks do I want to look back and see?
52
If God holds me, why am I holding on?
As I grow older, I am able to do increasingly less, yet my mind doesn't seem to age. Yes, brain functions like memory and calculating skills have deteriorated some, but the “I” that I am remains the same. It seems clear that my real safety lies in the recognition that whether I am physically paralyzed, compulsively hyperactive, or somewhere in between, I still remain as God created me. Therefore I can safely say, “Today I hold onto nothing, because God holds on to me.”
53
My mind is like a hand that can open or clench. The choice is mine.
If I am capable of tightening my mental grip, I am also capable of loosening it. I am free to let go of wanting and getting, having and losing, worrying and denying, all of which require me to narrow my mind. A relaxed mind can't sustain a fearful or judgmental focus. Today I will notice each time my mind tightens, for if the divine is real, I can rest in the truth that there is nowhere else I need be and nothing else I must have.
54
God's light shines in all directions.
To heal the past, just dance backward through the rays of God, which shine through every step you ever took. They were always there, even though you chose to close your eyes. Then dance back to your home within the present. But leave the door open wide behind you to such brilliant shadows and healing memories.
55
Wherever I go, God is already there.
From your heart, the River of God flows gently into the future. Immerse every fearful expectation within the still and silent waters of divine blessing. Then watch as the River washes each anticipation, now sparkling with welcome, onto the shore of your tomorrow.
56
Repeatedly assessing past performance is failure to concentrate on what can be done now.
Today, each time I feel even a slight stab of defeat or disappointment, I will be still and remember that God is not mistaken in loving me. I will sense this love deep within me, and I will watch as it quietly replaces all shame and anguish with a fresh determination to do the best I can this moment.
57
“Trust yourself” and “Trust God” are not conflicting ideals. I must trust what I am, but what I am is never alone.
It's impossible to choose without conflict between being selfless or selfish. The first choice makes me feel self-neglectful and the second, self-indulgent. To “sacrifice” for others makes me resentful and can lead to hatred, yet to disregard their needs, isolates me and may lead to a deep loneliness. But the choice between the two is always false because God is both love and peace. God's love blesses each and all equally, and to choose God is to choose peace. When I ask myself, “What is the most peaceful thing to do?” the answer is what I want to do, and it is kind to all.
58
Today I will see through the eyes of Love.
I am called to a great wedding. I am asked to embrace Life everywhere I look. Life's vision sees the threads of innocence woven through all people and things, like a shaft of light falling across treasured objects long hidden in darkness. Because I am real, and because Life is real, I must already be a part of Life, and it a part of me. There is a place in me so harmless and still that all fear has dropped away. As snow unifies a landscape and moonlight transforms it, today my vision will arise from this place, and it will blanket the world in peace.
59
When I extend what I am, I broaden my happiness.
Nice people are always happier than mean people. To expand and extend the love in my heart creates in me an innocent vision. It doesn't reform other egos, but it does see beyond them. This seeing is not mere illumination, like shining a flashlight on a trash heap. Spiritual sight is spiritual reality. What is seen in love is at one with the seeing. Nothing has more substance and presence than accurate perception. Ego perception is arbitrary and unstable, but to look gently is to begin to see heaven at hand.
60
Blessed are those who try again.
Trying again is an act of faith, not in predictable outcomes, but in predictable blessings. We reach a time in life when we see that things have not turned out as we believed in our youth they would. We become afraid to hope, afraid to try again. We especially tend to be cynical about forming new friendships or finding a potential partner. Then the possibility of a new relationship opens up, or the potential of an old one is recognized, for never does God stop presenting opportunities. Naturally, a part of us is skeptical and holds back. We think that protecting ourselves is more important than loving another person. But nothing is more important than love.
61
“I am completely at peace with the way you are.”
I tell myself that the people I know are in God's hands, but do I believe it? For if God loves us all equally and guides us all impartially, why do I keep expecting people to behave differently? Today, whenever some behavior does not meet with my approval, I will silently say, “Because God is real, it is possible for me to be at peace with what you just did.”
62
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