As the water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. -Proverbs
Tag Archives: Wisdom
2 tips guaranteed to improve peace of mind
rock time. that’s the term my bff and I coined for quiet, reflective moments on a rock in a peaceful environment. essential elements: the rock, two open hearts, nature, our book of values and wisdom (Bible), a journal and sunshine (sunshine…beautiful sunshine…we all know how refreshing turning your face toward the warmth of the sun can be). man, would i love a little rock time with my bff…i miss you, lori!
nature will teach valuable lessons about peaceful existence…just watch. the bird in the photo above has stopped for a few moments of quiet reflection. he’ll be hurrying off soon enough but for this moment…just quiet, peaceful, rest.
it is very easy to find the heart and mind troubled, disturbed, and dis-quieted. goodness, the entire world around us uses our heart and minds to press us to dissatisfaction, longing, and desire. marketers count on the fact that the heart and mind will long for more and present us every message possible to convince us that we aren’t enough, don’t have enough, we aren’t smart enough, and that we lack “something”. think about he story of the garden of eden…that is exactly what the serpent used on eve. basically, “yeah, you have it pretty good. the garden is ok but it’s really not all that great because you don’t have….” boom! dissatisfaction hit her heart and thirst and longing for more filled it. it worked then…it works now. i need more money. i need more education. i need a better job or boss. i need a better husband. i need more blog readers. THEN i can be happier. what a lie. talk about throwing your heart and mind into a frenzy…
i have 2 tips that are guaranteed to improve your peace of mind. remember, i don’t believe in magic wands. i believe in wisdom and good ole elbow grease. rolling your sleeves up, looking at the pain and applying deliberate (on purpose) and purposeful (truly beneficial) action. would you like to hear what they are?
what are they?
so glad you asked!
Tip #1 : fix (focus) your mind on these things. yip (i love NZ slang), discipline. de-clutter your mind. out with the old-in with the new.
- whatever is true (real~ genuine~ actual)
- whatever is worthy of reverence (deep respect)
- whatever is honourable (respectable ~ reputable ~ honest)
- whatever is just (quality of being fair and reasonable)
- whatever is pure (clean ~ clear~ absolute)
- whatever is lovely and lovable (exquisitely beautiful ~ fair ~ inspiring ~deserving of admiration)
- whatever is kind (nice~ good~ gentle)
- whatever is winsome (engaging~ attractive)
- whatever is gracious (courteous~ merciful~ benevolent~ benign)
- virtue (merit~ goodness)
- excellence (outstanding quality)
-paul to the Philippians
step one: fix (focus) your mind on this list of things by thinking about them, weighing your thoughts against them, and consider them.
step two: practice. any new skill requires practice. so -you practice. practice. practice until these things fill your mind and thoughts more naturally than worry, frustration, anger and whatever else keeps your mind agitated. while you are practicing, take notice of how your body, soul and spirit react to each type of thoughts. try this: think of a situation that really got you angry. rehearse it for a minute in your mind. did you feel all the reactions? pretty bad…negative. now think of the happiest moment you can remember in your life: rehearse it in your mind. did you feel all the good reactions? if i think about holding my daughter or one of my grand babies for the first time…i involuntarily smile. i can’t help it. those moments were so joyous to me. both sets of thoughts cause a reaction in my heart and mind. i don’t enjoy the negative reactions but i am uplifted by the good, positive ones.
result: peace(untroubled, undisturbed well-being)- will be with you. tip #1…can immediately improve your peace of mind for the moment. with practice it will improve your peace of mind consistently.
Tip #2: be content. be satisfied to the point of where i am not disturbed, troubled, anxious, or uneasy. two sets of circumstances present themselves in our lives…lack and abundance.
- lack – living humbly in straitened (narrow, lean) circumstances. this one makes our skin crawl. no one wants to go without. in fact, having the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing are imperative to survival. when faced with this circumstance our instinct for self preservation kicks in and moves us toward ways to survive.
- plenty-living well-fed, having sufficient supply with enough to spare. this one makes life so much easier. we enjoy and revel in this circumstance. it is not hard to have peace of mind in this circumstance. it does not guarantee peace of mind though. there are many examples of wealthy, miserable people.
the key is to find the undisturbed place for your heart and mind through contentment. i was amazed how content my heart was following the corporate take -over of our company a few years ago. yes, yes…there was anger and grieving and crying. i am human. lol. i told you in my overcoming addiction blog that i have had many negative situations to face in my lifetime. i sat with the emotion and shock when we discovered there was no way out…this situation was inevitable. once i had taken the time i needed to get my head around what i could not change, felt the pain and released it (crying, praying, screaming…there was a wide range of emotion)-i had to settle my heart. my heart was disquieted and disturbed. i did not want to live my life long term in this state. i enjoy peace of mind. i crave peace of mind. i began to go through the list above…
- what is true? my life is not over. i can get up and start again. true!
- what is worthy of reverence? the God-given blessings that i had enjoyed while i had that business…living in plenty…and that now i did not want to be a “brat” about difficult circumstances. respect!
- what is lovely and kind? mercy. let me tell you right now…i had to grab hold of my heart and mind and inform them both that i fully intended to show mercy. non-negotiable…non-negotiable. revenge is an ugly, ugly trap. eats at you like cancer, too.
- and on and on down the list i went.
it was a painful time. however, in the end we were debt-free. we didn’t have anything. we didn’t owe anything, either. i found myself very content without financial pressure. in the midst of that trauma, both my husband and i determined that we would never walk under the bondage of debt again. we were able to find contentment for what we had, when we had it ,in order to preserve that peace of mind. we began to practice lots of positive behaviours to maintain contentment and the resulting peace of mind.
contentment is a very difficult. practice. practice looking at and seeing what you are, what you have and where you are at the moment with respect and honor. decide that there is a right time for everything in life (under heaven). learn the lessons. lack teaches us to be resourceful and frugal; to appreciate and develop better stewardship. it helps us be empathetic to the needs of others and addresses arrogance. it’s not fun but it can be powerful.
take your “well-being” pulse right now? are you disturbed and disquieted? consider my two tips for improving your peace of mind.
please, share a comment with me if you find these tips helpful. Come back after you have practiced them. i would love to hear about your results.
peace,
D
a great way to fill your heart with joy…kindness
We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindness there is at last one which makes the heart run over.
Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
i might bend beneath the wind but i won’t break
when you have had to press in…
like pushing back against the wind-
pressure
uncertainty
schedules
new goals
expectations
improvements
say to your heart…
“I’ve got this!”
i might bend beneath the wind but –
i won’t break!
Life Lessons From Maya Angelo
what was i supposed to do again? oh, yeah…spot foolishness
Proverbs is written as if Wisdom is speaking directly to the reader. if i’m going to take advice on how to be wise…well, wisdom itself would be the best place to get good advice. when i want to cook a fabulous dinner…i listen to the people who know how to make dinner 
fabulous, right? or search the internet, pinterest, or books to get the tips that will help me do it the right way…i’m either over the multitude of failures in the kitchen, i don’t have time for failing or i’m 52 and have learned, “i don’t know everything” and i might just need some help. i look at Proverbs like that. it is jammed packed full of down to earth, practical ways to make my life successful, my relationships work better, my heart avoid pain and to have fewer failures. i actually like it. i am working on sharing what i see there. i am a bit behind but i want to share a few things i see in chapter 2 today.
so, here goes.
what Proverbs 2 says about wisdom:
- wise words are valuable to my life.
- my heart is a key component…my heart has to be “in it” for me to have a chance of applying the principles. have you ever said, “my heart’s just not in it?” if my heart’s not “in it” basically i’m not going to “do it”. the Bible said it first. lol
- God is the wisest of all…the wisdom in His is mouth holds the key to success.
- success comes by applying wisdom (not rocket science, right? fools aren’t usually very successful…we’ve all witnessed that)
- walking blameless is protection (if you don’t speed you are protected from speeding tickets…why didn’t i think of that?)
- wisdom helps me understand what is right, just and fair for every path (now, how many times have i said i didn’t know what to do…”she made me so mad, i didn’t know what to do…so i gave her an earful”-i do know. telling someone off makes me feel better but doesn’t actually bring a solution that improves my life).
- wisdom will keep me out of trouble and safe.
- wisdom will keep me from falling for the wrong person. i won’t be tempted to fall for ”a line” (flattering lips, seduction, manipulation)
- when i follow wisdom’s advice i get to keep traveling my journey.
- you do the crime, you do the time! basically that is what the last part of chapter 2 says. if i don’t follow wisdom i get cut off from my life…you play, you pay. the most obvious is being cut off from my life by going to jail . if i cheat in relationships, they end. if i don’t do my job well, i loose it. if i spend too much money, i’m broke all the time. if i’m rude and obnoxious, people won’t stay around me.
honestly, i can’t argue with those points. my life experiences have been witness to these practical tips (one of these days, i’ll tell you about my afternoon in the “slammer”…that got my attention.. QUICK!). i’ve blown a few things myself. i’ve watched family and friends blow a few things. tell you what though, i’m learning…i’m valuing wisdom more now than i ever have (you know…learning from my mistakes), and my heart after all the pain it’s been through has decided, “it’s in”!
i don’t want to be foolish with my life…do you?
have a fabulous day…I’ve shared with you a few tips (a recipe) from proverbs to help make it that way. go for it!
as always, i am so happy you stopped by,
D
making wisdom practical and functional makes me happy
i’m feeling a bit carefree today…see disappointments don’t have to weigh our hearts down for ever.
emotions will line up with our goals…perspective and hope are such powerful tools. they help the joy take it’s rightful place and help us lighten up so that dealing with the important things in our lives is not such a daunting task.
i love to be around otter personalities. like i’ve said before i’m usually the quiet one but from time to time…i will challenge myself to lighten up, push past the shyness and not take myself so seriously. i find it especially helpful after i’ve faced a stressful day like yesterday. now, i’m not really that good at it. that’s why having an otter personality or two around helps to encourage me to step out on the limb…and let my hair down.
being silly helps me remember that life is not all work, stress and difficulty.
laughter does good like medicine….that’s a proverb…you know what? laughter really is good medicine for my heart….i have to say i actually really like the proverbs. i don’t always understand all the “lingo”…so i sit and reflect on them, digging for the practical, golden nuggets i can apply. i really like the thought of being successful at what i do… i really don’t want to waste too much time if what i am doing is not going to work. right? i mean really, what sense does it make to keep doing something that is not working. what’s that saying? the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and again but expecting different results.
i, also,love to read quotes and look for how other people view wisdom. you will notice i am sharing a few of my favorites from time to time.
i decided to add a page to my little blog site here…kind of my down to earth approach to what i see as the practical tips i find in the proverbs…there are hundreds of life tips in there that i’ve found pretty helpful. i invite you to have a look.
if you haven’t had a good laugh in a while…hope the pictures i am sharing today will make you chuckle….
if you’re world seems to be piled sky high with stress, responsibility,and harsh realities…you might need to grab your most spontaneous “otter” friend and take some medicine…laughter…
if you’re friend is not available…here are some of my favourite comedy movies:
ok, kind of looks like a Steve Martin marathon…what can i say, i’m a fan. then again, i loved lucy, carol burnette, and bill cosby too. now, i’ve dated myself. i enjoy many modern day films as well…but when i need to just have a laugh for silliness sake…well, these are my tried and trues.
tomorrow is a the Queen’s Birthday. NZ is a part of the English commonwealth…we get to celebrate her birthday with her by having the day off…
i will be planning to go play with my grand babies. see you when i see you!
why not, if i’m being silly…here are their funny faces!
thanks for stopping by,
D
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