Each Day a New Beginning: May 19th

. . . if we are suffering illness, poverty, or misfortune, we think we shall be satisfied on the day it ceases. But there too, we know it is false, so soon as one has got used to not suffering, one wants something else.
—Simone Weil

Perhaps it's the human condition never to be satisfied and yet always to think, "If only . . ." However, the more we look within for wholeness, the greater will be our acceptance of all things, at all times.

So frequently we hear that happiness is within. But what does that mean when we may have just lost the job that supported us and our children? Or when the car won't start and funds are low? Or when we are feeling really scared and don't know whom to talk to or where to go? "Happiness is within" is such a grand platitude at those times.

Nevertheless, our security in any situation is within, if we but know how to tap it. It is within because that is where the strength we are blessed with resides, the strength given us from the power greater than ourselves. "Going within" takes, first, a decision. Next, it takes stillness, and then, patience. But peace will come.

We will quit wanting when we have learned how to turn to our inner strength. We will find serenity rather than suffering.

I will go within whenever I feel the rumblings of dissatisfaction today. I will look there for my joy and sense of well-being and know that divine order is in charge.

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The key to finding happiness within is to live in the present moment, ignoring the past & the future.  When I live in the future, I say "What if" and "If only"..........if only I were thinner, THEN I would be happy.  If only my friends treated me better, THEN my life would be better.  I insist on worrying about the future, playing out all sorts of What If scenarios, and then expecting myself to COPE with the outcome of each? Those scenarios are not REAL, and coping with them is impossible!

My life situation is not 'perfect' at the moment, but nothing is wrong at this moment either.  When I still my mind and allow God to guide me is when I find the spiritual sustenance and inner peace that I seek.

When I accept ALL situations that present themselves to me, I do not shatter my peace of mind for anything.  When a problem arises, I can do my best to deal with an answer to it, and then leave the outcome up to God. Asking for His guidance during prayer helps me tremendously.

Fighting a situation only strengthens it.  Surrendering to and accepting a situation is what enables me to maintain inner peace in spite of what's going on.

For today, I pray to be satisfied TODAY.