Like almost everyone I know, my life is not perfect, but anytime I ever think of comparing my life with anyone else I know, or even those i know of, I feel overwhelmingly happy to be me!
I read that first line to myself and got the thought that it may sound arrogant or boastful. That's not how I meant it, and i hope with my explanation, now you won't think that either. What I mean is, I don't want to trade lives with anyone. I am trying to think now how to expand on that. Specifically, why or how i feel like that.
For me, one key has to be that i have recently started to try to really develop my sense of compassion for others. I now realize that I have sucked at this for most of my life until now. Since trying to learn, I think i have improved a lot. It's amazing to me how it has improved my life in general, and specifically my personal relationships. I think as i have practiced this, one really useful side affect is that I have learned to have compassion for myself! This is important for me because i have made lots of mistakes in my life. It's not that i don't hold myself accountable, but I am able to fairly quickly move past any perceived failure. I have realized since meeting my grandson that the clock has started to speed up. Not just when I am with him, but all the time. As a result of that, I feel I don't have time to waste beating myself up. There is just no value to it so i choose to think about other things.
I could very easily list a bunch of things in my life that I am frustrated or unhappy about, but anytime those things come to mind, i automatically replace those thoughts with thoughts of all the unbelievable gifts in my life. This way, I am using all my time thinking about things I want, and very little time thinking about things I don't want or like.
Almost forgot to mention the title. Capital L in hoLij. I am the Luckiest person i know!
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion"
Dalai Lama
Love holij
