TM3: Your joy and your sorrow; The problem with painful memories; Study on Fridays

Hi there,

Happy Monday!

Here’s your weekly dose of The Monday 3: a quote, an insight and an action I’m taking.

With love,

Toby

A quote I’m pondering

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Kahlil Gibran – author of The Prophet (Hat tip to Dr Russ Harris for this one)

An insight

You cannot delete painful memories and experiences.

How can we hold them as a part of who we are but not let them jerk us around? How can we take the power out of them?

Rather than trying to get rid of these experiences, we can acknowledge these memories and the associated experiences showing up.

We can connect to our bodies and recognise that even with these memories, we still have control over our limbs and our actions.

We can engage in the world around us to notice what we can see, hear, smell, touch, taste.

Then we can make choices that move us towards our values, towards meaning, towards contribution.

Acknowledge. Connect. Engage.

An action I’m taking

I’m setting aside 2 hours of study time on a Friday afternoon when things typically are winding down for the weekend. I’m loving the investment in my own learning.

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Is there one of these that really stood out for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts or suggestions whether that’s a favourite quote or something else.

I hope you have a great week ahead.