LEARN TO
LIVE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT...
This section is dedicated to one of the Virtual Madmen, the Spikester. Some time ago I received an e-mail from this young Madman, full of his usual wisdom, wit and no-nonsense, down-to-earth judiciousness in life. The subject matter was quite interesting and made me think for a long time about my own problems at the time and the solutions. He used one of those really cute catch phrases that to this day still bounces around in my head..."don't sweat the small stuff...and it is all small stuff..." Since his little pep talk I discovered a book by Richard Carlson on one of my business trips with the same title, and thus the title for this section. Thanks Spike for reminding me how important it is to not "sweat the small stuff" in life. Don't ever change your attitude in life my friend!!! :o)
I will be updating this page frequently with some simple, easy to do things that will enhance your life and those you interact with. All of the ideas and suggestions contained herein are from Carlson's book. I have found his strategies, based on the Zen principle of taking the path of least resistance in life, to be a good practical guide to achieving a more relaxed, peaceful and loving existence. I hope you too can enjoy and derive some benefit from them as well.
"Whenever we're dealing with bad news, a difficult person, or a disappointment of some kind, most of us get into certain habits, ways of reacting to life -particularly adversity- that don't serve us well. We overreact, blow things out of proportion, hold on too tightly, and focus on the negative aspects of life. When we are immobilized by little things -when we are irritated, annoyed, and easily bothered- our (over)reactions not only make us frustrated but actually get in the way of getting what we want. We lose sight of the bigger picture, focus on the negative, and annoy other people who might otherwise help us. In short, we live our lives as if they were one great big emergency! We often rush around looking busy, trying to solve problems, but in reality, we are often compounding them. Because everything seems like such a big deal, we end up spending our lives dealing with one drama after another.
After a while, we begin to believe that everything really is a big deal. We fail to recognize that the way we relate to our problems has a lot to do with how quickly and efficiently we solve them. As I hope you will soon discover, when you learn the habit of responding to life with more ease, problems that seemed "insurmountable" will begin to seem more manageable. And even the "biggies," things that are truly stressful, won't throw you off track as much as they once did.
Happily, there is another way to relate to life -a softer, more graceful path that makes life seem easier and the people in it more compatible. This "other way" of living involves replacing old habits of "reaction" with new habits of perspective. These new habits enable us to have richer, more satisfying lives."
Richard Carlson