Who Do You Want To Be?

  

One of the things that a person undertakes when they begin the practice of Buddhism, is to figure out who they are.  This is a difficult thing to do because many times we have been shaped by so many people, beginning with our parents, that we truly have no idea of what we like.  We are much like the bride in the movie, “Run Away Bride”, who does not know what kind of egg she likes because she has always liked what her fiancé liked.  Here is a simple meditation to do each time you sit in meditation. Try to answer one question per meditation.  

Enjoy the journey!

WHO DO I WANT TO BE? 
Mentally project yourself 5 years into the future: how would I like to be, having accomplished what I want to accomplish, learned what I want to learn, did what I wanted to do.
- Which qualities have I developed in myself?  
- Which are the most important lessons I have learned?  
- What have I done for others that I feel most happy about?  
- How did I manage to stop underestimating myself?  
- How did I manage to stop underestimating other people?  
- How did I manage to stop pretending that I cannot do things?  
- Which kind of powers and abilities did I discover in myself?  
- Which kind of powers and abilities did I find in others?  
- What can I do right now in order to be this person in five years?  
- If it feels right, make a commitment to yourself to make this vision reality.

Many blessings,

Judy 

Bored!

 “Good-bye. I am leaving because I am bored.”  George Saunders

Picture of boredom from

30tocure30.files.wordpress.com  



I saw the quote about boredom, and I tried to see where, in my life, I might be bored.  I could not find a spot of boredom!  So, perhaps I was not defining the thought correctly. I turned to one of my favourite resources, www.thefreedictionary.com, and found this definition of boredom.  

Boredom is “the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest”.  Now, that applied to me when I was nearing the end of my time at some jobs that I have held. 

Here is what else www.thefreedictionary.com had to say about boredom.  This was under their Thesaurus section.

Boredom or ennui, tedium; dissatisfaction - the feeling of being displeased and discontent; "he was never slow to express his dissatisfaction with the service he received";  blahs - a general feeling of boredom and dissatisfaction; fatigue - (always used with a modifier) boredom resulting from overexposure to something; "he was suffering from museum fatigue"; "after watching TV with her husband she had a bad case of football fatigue"; "the American public is experiencing scandal fatigue"; "political fatigue"

With all of these different meanings of boredom, it almost seems fashionable to be bored!  What I realized as I read through all of this is that boredom really means that there is no excitement; no passion.  

Really, what people are saying by being bored is that they want some passion and enthusiasm back in their life.  When passion is absent, people eventually get tired, depressed, and as George Saunders says, they leave. 

I wish you passion in your life. I wish you success in all things, but mostly in finding something that fills your heart and makes you spring out of bed in the morning.

Many blessings,

Judy

Do-Right

 I was watching a show today, and one of the characters said to the other, “Who are you? Dudley Do-Right?”

I laughed!  When I was growing up, I loved Dudley Do-Right cartoons.  Each cartoon featured a northern Mountie who was squeaky clean, always got his man, and always saved the damsel in distress.  When one saw someone as always doing the right thing, being good and true, and being above reproach, that “someone” would often be nick named “Dudley Do-Right”.  It may seem that if someone was sticking to the rules, and refused to hurt or bully or be part of anything that got some one else hurt, they were called a “Do-Right”. 

 

Dudley Do-Right captures Snidely Whiplash, and rescues the lovely Nell.  Nell throughout the series is enthralled with “Horse”.  Picture from Wikipedia.

I feel sad that when people abide by the first Rule of the Universe – harm no one – they are ridiculed.  I feel sad that the world’s overall belief system has not changed much in fifty years.  However, it feels like that belief system is about to change.  The biggest task that a Do-Right person has is to take responsibility for themselves and for their actions. In doing so, the person realizes that their actions have consequences.  When you hear a person say, “I had no choice”, know that they are trying to abdicate responsibility, and blame someone else.  Any Do-Right person will say instead, “I made a choice”, and become accountable.

Are you a Do-Right?

Many blessings,

Judy