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Happiness in Your Life 您 生 活 中 的 幸 福
By Doe Zantamata
Free photo courtesy www.acclaimimages.com
Too often, we carry around those things from our
past that hurt us the most.
Don't let past pain rob you of your present happiness.
You had to live through it in the past, and that cannot
be changed, but if the only place it lives today is
in your mind, then
Forgive, Let go, and Be free.
~Doe Zantamata
Move on from the past, let it go. Easier said than
done, right? Many of the quotes about life have to
do with letting go of past pain, because:
1. We all hold on to it
2. We all need to let it go in order to be happy.
So the big three questions after that, are:
1. How?
2. How?
3. How?
Just trying to forget it all, especially through alcohol
or drugs, is a very bad idea. It doesn't go away
unless it's dissolved. It lives in your cellular memory,
and unless you've made peace with it, those
memories can be triggered at any time, by anything.
Pain, once understood, can be let go. A few of
the biggest sources of pain and how to understand
them are:
1. Anger
Anger is usually felt when we feel wronged by,
robbed by, or cheated out of happiness by someone
else. The cure for anger is compassion and forgiveness.
Forgiveness doesn't mean everything's OK, it
just means you've found a way to let go of the resentment
toward that person.
How do you find compassion for a mean person?
Think of it from their perspective, as difficult as
that may be. How were they raised? Were they,
themselves completely insecure? Most people lie
out of insecurity, because they're terrified of the
truth. They don't accept themselves, so they can't
accept anyone else. If you happen to try to love a
person like this, you're in for a lot of misdirected
mistreatment.
The compassion is to be found in just understanding
a bit where they were coming from. Most
likely, they were scared at an emotional level and
trying to protect themselves. This comes across as
lying, controlling, even manipulative. They feel
emotionally out of control when they are vulnerable,
and so out of fear, they must try to keep control over
the people in their life. What a sad place to be. They
can never experience happiness as long as they live
September—October 2012 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) 31