DEALING WITH PAIN

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”

Quote by James Baldwin from his book NOTES OF A NATIVE SON (1955)

REFLECTION:

  • What ‘hates’ are you clinging to?
  • Upon examination, is there a pain being covered up?
  • What is the pain and how can you begin to deal with it?

BEING ALONE

“If we don’t teach our children to be alone, they will only know how to be lonely.” Quote by Sherry Turkle

If you don’t learn the ease of being alone, you will always be lonely… (my adaptation)

Quote by Sherry Turkle

REFLECTION:

  • Do you like your own company?  Are you at ease being alone?
  • How can you embrace being alone – not filling your moments with distractions (social media, news, noise, etc) but alone with your thoughts … alone with yourself.
  • If you have children, how can you teach them to be alone … free of distractions – free of being entertained 24/7 with a false sense of connection. 

HAVING ENOUGH

There are two ways to get enough:  One is to continue to accumulate more and more.  The other is to desire less.

Quote by G. K. Chesterton

REFLECTION:

  • Do you have enough?
  • Are you still accumulating more?  If yes, what do you want more of? What are you hoping to be, do, have with more stuff?
  • Do you desire less?  How would this feel to ‘ have enough’ ?