The Courage to Change

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to accept the things I can: an the wisdom to know the difference... Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the path to peace; taking as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting You will make all things right if I surrender to Your Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You in the next. amen." Reinhold Niebuhr.

"The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it. : This sound like some New Age Guru from "The Secret" telling us that our thoughts can control the universe. Actually, this quote dates back to antiquity: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. (121-180 A. D.) Thoughts become engraved on our mind and then become our beliefs. Our beliefs determine our actions.

If you do not change you beliefs, your life will remain the same forever. (Like Ground Hog's Day, this is a unique concept of Hell.) The more investment you have in your beliefs, the harder it is to change them. Change involves moving from the formula to the unknown . Chane starts with a believe in your ability to change or adapt. The more we become confident in our ability to adapt and change, the more results that can be obtained. The rewards in life go to those who are willing to release the past, and surrender what cannot be changed. Change takes place when you train your mind to desire what the new situation demands.

Before you can break out of the prison of your mind, you must first realize that you are locked up. Thinking patterns get so cemented in place that our learned coping mechanism become our next prison cell. All too often, we find good solution and we get so attached to it that becomes our next problem. When it becomes more difficult to suffer than to change, the change will take place. The pain takes away the options. Pain is the most transforming element in the universe.

Success is measured by our ability to complete tasks. Wishing an d hoping are often just excuses for not doing. Hope was the last evil released on the world because it all too often keeps suffering in place. If it were not for hope we would have sent all evils pack back into "Pandora's Box" long ago. "Hope is good at breakfast, but bad for supper." Frances Beacon. Hope leads to lethargy and greater inaction. It is only action that changes our reality. "Nothing is so certain that the evils of idleness can be shaken off by hard work." Seneca.

Don't wait until you feel like moving. Right feelings always follow right actions. Spider Lady says "sweep th cobwebs of your mind while you sweep the floor." The law of motion states that once an object is in motion it is more likely to stay in motion.

If nothing changes, nothing changes. (The insanity referred to in Step Two of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.) That is the insanity of doing the same thing and expecting different results. Getting the same results means you really have internalized the change.

If you do not know what direction to take, you haven't acknowledged who you are. Spend so time in relationship with your Higher Power, and the Universe will always give you direction. Living on self-will does not give the power to keep moving. Tapping into movement means tapping into energy from some source. Tapping into your true inheritance is very cost effective.

Are you living for something Great Than Yourself? When you have a purpose, your view of the world will change with very little effort. I was greatly blessed to have heard a speaker sum up the "Chapter to the Agnostics" ( Alcoholics Anonymous.), and his advice was very simple. To sum it up in three words: CHANGE YOU MIND!