By having a positive mindset. I live with my son and his fiance. Right now they live upstairs and I live downstairs in a split level home I own with my son. We will be purchasing another home and moving. My son has goals in mind to buy another home (fix it up) and rent it out. This home sale will bring a nice profit. Although I didn’t want to be onboard with this initially I do look forward to exploring a new area (about 20 mins away more in the country) and I will embrace it. I am very proud of my son who is 29 years old, very smart and has always had a vision in mind.. The new house is not bigger but just right to make it cozy and comfortable for all of us.
Gratitude for the millions of ways the creator has held and supported me in the last 41 years. My steps into the new year, should be informed by trust in myself and the universe’s support. Informing me to take bold steps into my life and work knowing love holds , supports and protects me.
There has been a tap on the shoulder in recent times to write a book. The topic swirls around every day, so it is probably time to begin. The motivation isn’t to “get it out there”, but an exercise in deep exploration of a topic dear to me. The decision to publish or not is in the future.
I like having a question about the year ahead that isn’t tied to the January 1 date. We always have a year ahead! The New Year date is an artifact without reality and yet it gets marked with all kinds of resolutions and intentions. My best friend told me years ago that she doesn’t do new year’s resolutions because if something is worth starting, it’s worth starting today. Being grateful starts all over again every day.
Thanks, Barb – I like that. Indeed it’s often silly to make resolutions on Jan 1, given how hi the failure rate is. But we can still make resolutions. I like the Sit In Peace – SIP – practice that I learned about from a zoom friend – ‘What to I need to Know Now?’ – or, as I remember it, ‘Know Now??’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LPuE3rueVY
Warm wishes 🙂
I moved to this area of the state almost a year ago now. It has been a year of finding my way around, getting used to the area and at times the weather, more traffic during the summer season, finding the right doctors (still working on that), missing my friends, etc. My hope is that the year ahead will bring me that sense of home that I am working on. I am grateful to be here, as I have always wanted to live in this area, but at my age I haven’t found the transition particularly easy. All a work in progress!
I will move into the year one way or the other. I will choose to be grateful for each moment. What supports me is this site, friends, family, my faith and hope.
Practicing gratefulness brings me back to the present and also it helps to keep me from falling into disrepair and self pity.
It’s important that I am taking actions that move me forward and not just regulating the behaviors that are holding me back.
My first reaction was, I don’t want to think about the year ahead. I want to be present and grateful for today.
Jeff Foster says it this way: “This is the way the world works and the way we work in the world–in the here and now. Never are we anywhere other than here nor any time other than now. Our speculating mind will always have us looking elsewhere for our happiness, yet happiness–indeed life itself–is available to us only in the moment. All we have to do is to choose it, again and again and again and again.” Jeff Kober
I know that most of you are familiar with Psychiatrist and Author Sheldon Kopp’s Eschatological Laundry List because I’ve shared it before but I see new folks joining this community all the time so I tend to share it again and again! It grounds me and just might be helpful to someone who visits our community today
1. This is it!
2. There are no hidden meanings.
3. You can’t get there from here and besides there’s no place else to go.
4. We are all already dying and we will be dead for a long time.
5. Nothing lasts.
6. There is no way of getting all you want.
7. You can’t have anything unless you let go of it.
8. You only get to keep what you give away.
9. There is no particular reason why you lost out on some things.
10. The world is not necessarily just. Being good often does not pay off and there is no compensation for misfortune.
11. You have a responsibility to do your best nonetheless.
12. It is a random universe to which we bring meaning.
13. You don’t really control anything.
14. You can’t make anyone love you.
15. No one is any stronger or any weaker than anyone else.
16. Everyone, in his own way, is vulnerable.
17. There are no great men.
18. If you have a hero, look again; you have diminished yourself in some way.
19. Everyone lies, cheats, pretends, (yes, you too, and most certainly I myself).
20. All evil is potential vitality in need of transformation.
21. All of you is worth something, if you will only own it.
22. Progress is an illusion.
23. Evil can be displaced but never eradicated as all solutions breed new problems.
24. Yet it is necessary to keep on struggling toward solution.
25. Childhood is a nightmare.
26. But it is so very hard to be an on-your-own, take-care-of-yourself-cause-there-is-no- one-else-to-do-it-for-you grown-up.
27. Each of us is ultimately alone.
28. The most important things, each man must do for himself.
29. Love is not enough, but it sure helps.
30. We have only ourselves and one another. That may not be much but that’s all there is.
31. How strange that so often, it all seems worth it.
32. We must live within the ambiguity of partial freedom, partial power and partial knowledge.
33. All important decisions must be made on the basis of insufficient data.
34. Yet we are responsible for everything we do.
35. No excuses will be accepted.
36. You can run, but you can’t hide.
37. It is most important to run out of scapegoats.
38. We must learn the power of living with our helplessness.
39. The only victory lies in surrender to oneself.
40. All of the significant battles are waged within the self.
41. You are free to do whatever you like. You need only face the consequences.
42. What do you know…for sure…anyway?
43. Learn to forgive yourself, again and again and again and again…
Mica, Sheldon Kopp’s writings entered my life in the 1980s and were very helpful to me. I still return again and again to the Eschatological Laundry List.
I try to live in the present and not think about the year ahead. But by grateful now and focusing on it I am teaching my mind acceptance and being positive so that in the future if difficulties arise I will be better able to live through them.
Gratefulness keeps me grounded in the present. It’s a counterweight when worries and anxieties flare up. It helps me focus on what I have rather than what I don’t.
Gratitude, awareness, meditation and all around mindfulness have been helping me support my mental state day by day, sometimes moment by moment. Along with continued therapy I hope to keep my addict mind at bay. “You can’t expect anything from life. You are Life….you can’t expect anything from it. Just live it.” From an unnamed older man with one leg talking about his happiness in a Green Renaissance video.
Gratefulness supports a healthy and peaceful mindset, and I appreciate that more as more as the years go by. But I can’t think about the year ahead just yet. I have plenty enough to think about this month!
I think by participating on this website daily and viewing everyone’s reflections we all help each other by supporting each other. While the question focuses on the year ahead, I also remember to stay focused on the present moment. Happy Saturday everyone. Also, I’d like to say RIP Hagrid. Robbie Coltrane played that part perfect. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and all his fans who will miss him sorely.
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By having a positive mindset. I live with my son and his fiance. Right now they live upstairs and I live downstairs in a split level home I own with my son. We will be purchasing another home and moving. My son has goals in mind to buy another home (fix it up) and rent it out. This home sale will bring a nice profit. Although I didn’t want to be onboard with this initially I do look forward to exploring a new area (about 20 mins away more in the country) and I will embrace it. I am very proud of my son who is 29 years old, very smart and has always had a vision in mind.. The new house is not bigger but just right to make it cozy and comfortable for all of us.
Gratitude for the millions of ways the creator has held and supported me in the last 41 years. My steps into the new year, should be informed by trust in myself and the universe’s support. Informing me to take bold steps into my life and work knowing love holds , supports and protects me.
There has been a tap on the shoulder in recent times to write a book. The topic swirls around every day, so it is probably time to begin. The motivation isn’t to “get it out there”, but an exercise in deep exploration of a topic dear to me. The decision to publish or not is in the future.
I like having a question about the year ahead that isn’t tied to the January 1 date. We always have a year ahead! The New Year date is an artifact without reality and yet it gets marked with all kinds of resolutions and intentions. My best friend told me years ago that she doesn’t do new year’s resolutions because if something is worth starting, it’s worth starting today. Being grateful starts all over again every day.
Thanks, Barb – I like that. Indeed it’s often silly to make resolutions on Jan 1, given how hi the failure rate is. But we can still make resolutions. I like the Sit In Peace – SIP – practice that I learned about from a zoom friend – ‘What to I need to Know Now?’ – or, as I remember it, ‘Know Now??’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LPuE3rueVY
Warm wishes 🙂
I moved to this area of the state almost a year ago now. It has been a year of finding my way around, getting used to the area and at times the weather, more traffic during the summer season, finding the right doctors (still working on that), missing my friends, etc. My hope is that the year ahead will bring me that sense of home that I am working on. I am grateful to be here, as I have always wanted to live in this area, but at my age I haven’t found the transition particularly easy. All a work in progress!
Warm wishes to you, Pilgrim! 🙂
Thank you, Mica.
I will move into the year one way or the other. I will choose to be grateful for each moment. What supports me is this site, friends, family, my faith and hope.
Practicing gratefulness brings me back to the present and also it helps to keep me from falling into disrepair and self pity.
It’s important that I am taking actions that move me forward and not just regulating the behaviors that are holding me back.
My first reaction was, I don’t want to think about the year ahead. I want to be present and grateful for today.
Jeff Foster says it this way: “This is the way the world works and the way we work in the world–in the here and now. Never are we anywhere other than here nor any time other than now. Our speculating mind will always have us looking elsewhere for our happiness, yet happiness–indeed life itself–is available to us only in the moment. All we have to do is to choose it, again and again and again and again.” Jeff Kober
I know that most of you are familiar with Psychiatrist and Author Sheldon Kopp’s Eschatological Laundry List because I’ve shared it before but I see new folks joining this community all the time so I tend to share it again and again! It grounds me and just might be helpful to someone who visits our community today
1. This is it!
2. There are no hidden meanings.
3. You can’t get there from here and besides there’s no place else to go.
4. We are all already dying and we will be dead for a long time.
5. Nothing lasts.
6. There is no way of getting all you want.
7. You can’t have anything unless you let go of it.
8. You only get to keep what you give away.
9. There is no particular reason why you lost out on some things.
10. The world is not necessarily just. Being good often does not pay off and there is no compensation for misfortune.
11. You have a responsibility to do your best nonetheless.
12. It is a random universe to which we bring meaning.
13. You don’t really control anything.
14. You can’t make anyone love you.
15. No one is any stronger or any weaker than anyone else.
16. Everyone, in his own way, is vulnerable.
17. There are no great men.
18. If you have a hero, look again; you have diminished yourself in some way.
19. Everyone lies, cheats, pretends, (yes, you too, and most certainly I myself).
20. All evil is potential vitality in need of transformation.
21. All of you is worth something, if you will only own it.
22. Progress is an illusion.
23. Evil can be displaced but never eradicated as all solutions breed new problems.
24. Yet it is necessary to keep on struggling toward solution.
25. Childhood is a nightmare.
26. But it is so very hard to be an on-your-own, take-care-of-yourself-cause-there-is-no- one-else-to-do-it-for-you grown-up.
27. Each of us is ultimately alone.
28. The most important things, each man must do for himself.
29. Love is not enough, but it sure helps.
30. We have only ourselves and one another. That may not be much but that’s all there is.
31. How strange that so often, it all seems worth it.
32. We must live within the ambiguity of partial freedom, partial power and partial knowledge.
33. All important decisions must be made on the basis of insufficient data.
34. Yet we are responsible for everything we do.
35. No excuses will be accepted.
36. You can run, but you can’t hide.
37. It is most important to run out of scapegoats.
38. We must learn the power of living with our helplessness.
39. The only victory lies in surrender to oneself.
40. All of the significant battles are waged within the self.
41. You are free to do whatever you like. You need only face the consequences.
42. What do you know…for sure…anyway?
43. Learn to forgive yourself, again and again and again and again…
Blessings, Carol
“You can run, bit you can’t hide.” I have said this one to myself many times too numerous to remember. Thanks Carol.
Joseph, Every time I read the list a different saying stands out to me and I have been reading that list since the 1980s!
Thanks for sharing very interesting!
New to me – many thanks, Carol! I’m starting to read, now, about Sheldon Kopp 🙂
Mica, Sheldon Kopp’s writings entered my life in the 1980s and were very helpful to me. I still return again and again to the Eschatological Laundry List.
I hadn’t seen this before and it’s fantastic. Thank you for sharing it again and again.
Wow….. thank you!
hmm— gratefulness informs and supports acceptance and maybe problem solving from a space responsiveness as opposed to reactive.
I try to live in the present and not think about the year ahead. But by grateful now and focusing on it I am teaching my mind acceptance and being positive so that in the future if difficulties arise I will be better able to live through them.
Yes! Live in the present – thanks, devy, for that reminder 🙂
I have enough to handle to move into the morning ahead. I am grateful to be looking forward to French toast with fresh strawberries. 🍞🍓😋
Gratefulness keeps me grounded in the present. It’s a counterweight when worries and anxieties flare up. It helps me focus on what I have rather than what I don’t.
Gratitude, awareness, meditation and all around mindfulness have been helping me support my mental state day by day, sometimes moment by moment. Along with continued therapy I hope to keep my addict mind at bay. “You can’t expect anything from life. You are Life….you can’t expect anything from it. Just live it.” From an unnamed older man with one leg talking about his happiness in a Green Renaissance video.
What a grounding philosophy he shared. Thank you for posting it here.
Gratefulness supports a healthy and peaceful mindset, and I appreciate that more as more as the years go by. But I can’t think about the year ahead just yet. I have plenty enough to think about this month!
I think by participating on this website daily and viewing everyone’s reflections we all help each other by supporting each other. While the question focuses on the year ahead, I also remember to stay focused on the present moment. Happy Saturday everyone. Also, I’d like to say RIP Hagrid. Robbie Coltrane played that part perfect. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and all his fans who will miss him sorely.