Theos-Talk Archives (June 1997 Message tl00659)

"Anna S. Bjornsdottir & E.A." <annasb@ismennt.is> quoted:

> Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you
> have two choices today.  You can choose to be in a good mood or you
> can choose to be in a bad mood.'  I choose to be in a good mood. Each
> time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can
> choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

On the whole, a good attitude - as long as it is genuine. And I can see how
the very opposite is all too common today.

Just a caution: don't confuse the best choice with never being sad. Even Jesus
wept for the condition of his fellow human beings. Another example: a devoted
student of Yogananda died. When his other students saw him weeping they
reminded him: "She is happy now and in good hands on the other side. She will
also reincarnate." He answered, "I know all that. These are tears of love. I
shall miss her on this side."

Wounds from the human condition become the stigmata sensitivity. From the
ancient idea of the Medicus: "Only the wounded physician heals."

> Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their
> complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the
> positive side of life."

Depends. Complaining in the sense of railing against the "unfairness" of life
is destructive. But if they are feeling human sadness, you can empathize with
them.