opportunities to learn from defeat

Thank You Jesus Christ for Creating The Way of Your Word!

Protective Nurturing
Taurus Daily Horoscope

You may be in a space of nurturing today, and find yourself caring for the needs of your family members. You may even feel protective of them, wanting to keep them safe from the world and its challenges. But, there are times when protecting the ones we love is the opposite of nurturing their growth toward their highest potential. In our desire to save them from experiencing sadness, frustration, pain and anguish, we may be robbing them of the opportunities to learn from defeat and discover their strengths. In our world of dualities, it is often necessary for us to experience the opposite or absence of a thing before we can understand the thing itself. Today you can nurture your loved ones when they need your support, but you can also find the strength to let them learn and grow through their own experiences.

Life and its challenges can be far more effective at teaching us about ourselves than having someone tell us. The process of trial and error sheds greater light on most subjects than simple instruction. Some people can learn this way in some situations, but other times we need experience to understand fully. We need to keep in mind that nurturing someone needs to be with the ultimate goal of having them grow to be able to stand on their own. When we nurture our loved ones with this goal in mind today, we can protect them far more effectively and successfully.

We all spend a great deal of time hiding our true selves from others. Why do we do this? Well, we believe we must in order to protect ourselves from harm – sometimes physical harm, but usually emotional harm.

In fact, we become so good at hiding that we lose our grip on our true selves. We pretend to ourselves as much as we pretend to others. But in order to be genuinely happy, we each have to relocate that unique real self that came into this world. Only then can anyone connect with his or her life purpose.

If you watch children carefully enough, you can see them gradually learning how to hide themselves. As toddlers, they are usually blissfully themselves, and this is exactly why we find them so delightful. No pretense, no politeness, no hiding. Of course, when a toddler points out that someone is bald, this is hardly behavior to emulate as an adult. However, the joy with which a toddler experiences the world is a wonderful example to follow. This essence of joy, pleasure, and fun is your birthright.

When discontent with work and career begins to set in, it's good news. It means you're no longer comfortable living a life that is untrue to your real self. It means you don't want to hide anymore, and as a result, contentment is finally possible. But the discontent often comes before the ability to connect with the real self underneath all of the years of hiding. Reconnecting can feel daunting, but it's a journey well worth taking.

Begin by simply noticing when you hide yourself in life. Check in with yourself to see if you're expressing what you truly feel or if you're saying something else. There will be times when hiding a little bit is appropriate, such as when the truth might needlessly hurt someone else's feelings. But there will be other times when you can choose to let go of the fear and let others truly see you. There will be times when you can say what you really mean even if it feels risky. We hide to avoid conflict and pain, but the act of hiding is often what causes the greatest pain and conflict.

The more you notice the moments when you hide, the more in touch with your real feelings, impulses, and preferences you will become. As you peel away the onion to reveal your essence – the real you – there will be much more clarity about your purpose and many other areas of your life. Choices will be much easier to make because you will know yourself deeply and intimately – the you that is absolutely unique, precious, and divine. And as you allow the real you to be seen and experienced by others, you will feel genuinely loved for who you are.

Are you in a Commitment Conflict? Maybe you've declared to yourself that things are going to change, that you're finally going to drop the old baggage and move forward in a particular area of your life. You set intentions, you think positive thoughts, you write in your journal every night. But nothing's changing. Why?

You might be in a Commitment Conflict. You say you're committed to making a change, but you're committed to the status quo. The way things have always been is safer, it's known, you may not like it but at least you know how to deal with it. The changes you're seeking are scary, unknown… what if you get in over your head? What if things don't work out the way you want, how will you handle it? What if the change you're seeking is worse than the scenario you're living with now?

Let's take a common scenario: relationships. Let's say that you've done some inner work on yourself, cleared up some past issues, and have declared that now is the time to meet Mr. or Ms. Right and create a loving, committed union. You journal about it, you meditate on it, you have post-it notes stuck on all your mirrors proclaiming your new intentions. But inside your head, every once in a while, you say to yourself, "I've tried this before, it never works out. The perfect relationship doesn't exist."

You now have two commitments battling each other: The commitment to create a fantastic relationship, and the commitment to prove that such a relationship doesn't exist. It's said that humans would often rather be right than be happy. If you make efforts to create a new relationship, but it doesn't work out, you've proven to yourself that, once again, you were right. In this case, you're more committed to the belief that fantastic relationships aren't possible for you.

So be more committed to the change you seek than to the status quo:

1. Watch your thoughts! When a thought that sounds anything like your old, limiting belief surfaces, deal with it right then and there.

2. Be ready with Replacement Thoughts. Write your new, empowering beliefs on, yes, post-it notes and notecards; have these reminders around you and use them. They are there to replace the old thoughts whenever they surface.

3. Take steps towards the change you want to make. Brainstorm ways in which, in the example used, you can prove to yourself that fantastic relationships exist and that you're next in line for one. Search out validation that your new ideas are true. Make your new ideas true.

4. Make constant, steady movement towards that which you want, and leave the rest behind. Our daily lives are made up of a series of decisions made moment by moment. Pause and consider even the tiniest decision you're about to make; could one of the choices support you in the change you're seeking to make? Be committed to making those changes. You may just turn out to be right.
by Suzanne Devereux

yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have; so spend it wisely.

Thank You Dearest Loving Lord Jesus Christ.