Quote of the Day – March 10 2012

“You have little time left, and none of it for crap. A fine state. I would say that the best of us always comes out when we are against the wall, when we feel the sword dangling overhead. Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
― Carlos Castaneda, Tales of Power

Many of the most difficult lessons I’ve had to learn in my life have come from people (teachers, friends, relationships) that I have felt greatly challenged by. So many times I have been knocked on my ass metaphorically (and once or twice literally ) by people and I’ve hated it. Many of these people I’ve been able to go back and thank and give both my retroactive consent and gratitude for the lesson learned.
Now when I find myself challenged by someone and feeling put upon , I take a closer look at what is really going on. In what way do I feel challenged? Which of my buttons is being pushed? More importantly, what is the intention of the person whom I feel challenged by? It is rare indeed that anyone has the intention of upsetting me tho there has been several times that I’ve had to be shaken out of my complacency.
Sometimes I have learned to appreciate the verbal form of what in Zen Buddhism is known as ‘grandmotherly kindness’.

Click on image to see full-size

Balance by G A Rosenberg