Tuesday Truth: Learning to Like "Life"

Yesterday, while flipping through the new "Gratitude Journal" that one of my friends gave me for my birthday (it's amazing, btw, and here's a link), I came across the above quote by Lucy Larcom. What I love about this  passage is that although it was written (or said?) in the 1800s, it is still just as applicable and relatable today--over 100 years later (!!!). My favorite point that she makes? When she personifies "Life" and, speaking for Life, says: 

"Child, you must learn to like me in the form in which you see me, before I can offer myself to you in any other aspect."

It's so true, isn't it? It's just like another one of my favorite quotes, by Jon Kabat-Zinn, "Wherever you go, there you are." It's this idea that before you can find happiness, before you can find acceptance, before you can learn much of anything from your life or grow in any way, you must find a sense of contentment with where you are right now, with your life, as it is in it's current form, whatever or wherever that may be. 

It's difficult, isn't it? I know that I'm an old pro at saying, "Once ____ changes, I'll be a lot happier," or, "After I finish this _____, I'll have a lot more time to relax/enjoy life/spend time with friends." But the thing is, until we learn to accept that THIS is our life--until we learn to like it and accept it in it's current form--we won't be able to make the necessary changes for growth, happiness, and change, and we'll continue to make the same decisions and fall into the same old patterns and routines that we always have.

So how can you take a little step towards learning to like your life in it's current form today? What are you grateful for? What wonderful experiences can you enjoy, right where you are? What challenges can you overcome today, in order to grow or move a little closer to change?

I hope that we can all "lift ourselves above the annoyances of circumstances over which we have no control," and "make those circumstances our helpers," or "appreciate the good there is in them" this week. I know it's tough sometimes, especially when those circumstances seem to continue to get in our way, but I think we can do it...

Namaste!
Mary Catherine