I realize I have strayed (as promised) from the actual point of this blog, but I was reading this morning and was feeling really peaceful so I decided to share this passage with you:
'"To the Western mind,' I observed, 'patience and tolerance are certainly considered virtues, but when you are directly beset by others, when someone is actively harming you, responding with 'patience and tolerance' seems to have a flavor of weakness, of passivity.'
Shaking his head in disagreement, the Dalai Lama said, 'Since patience or tolerance comes from an ability to remain firm and steadfast and not be overwhelmed by the adverse situations or conditions that one faces, one should not see tolerance or patience as a sign of weakness, or giving in, but rather as a sign of strength, coming from a deep ability to remain firm. Responding to a trying situation with patience and tolerance rather than reacting with anger and hatred involves active restraint, which comes from a strong, self-disciplined mind.'"- The Art of Happiness
My whole life I have let myself be convinced by others that my tolerance and patience and "inability to express my anger" have been signs of weakness and things I need to "work on." I've admitted this to friends, boyfriends, etc. And today, for the first time, I'm starting to realize that maybe instead of being a weakness it's a strength. Not always, of course, because sometimes you HAVE to say how you feel so you don't internally combust. But to get through most days with more love than hate, more compassion and generosity than selfishness, and an ability to understand things from multiple perspectives? That is a POSITIVE trait. Re-vamping my mind today.......
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
i have always been jealous of you ability to be that way. definitely a strength - my mouth gets me into a lot of trouble sometimes. we should combine and average.
haha...well, as I said, sometimes we DO need to speak up :) let's combine forces!!!!!!
Post a Comment