Sensei Talks  

‘The human condition…is…the heartbreaking inability to sustain contentment.”

Elizabeth Gilberts’ book Eat Pray Love just keeps getting better! So many people have true problems while so many people create their own. Some people don’t realize what grace they already have in their lives and throw it all away. Everyone needs a guide sometimes. I think your guide can appear in any form. You have to be ready to seek your truth and to recognize your guide [and the need for that “ONE”]. Then you still have to be ready to begin the journey away from despair.

She says “perhaps my life has not actually been so chaotic, after all. It is merely this world that is chaotic, bringing changes to us that nobody could have anticipated” or are prepared for or can defend yourself from. You’ve seen that commercial where they say "now you know, and knowing is half the battle". So true! The other half is being willing to act on the knowledge. Victory is the ability to sustain or maintain your balance and that proves elusive for many of us who battle and lose again and again and again.

“Human discontentment is a simple case of mistaken identity. We’re miserable because we think that we are mere individuals, alone with our fears and flaws and resentments…” but, “somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme Self who is eternally at peace. That supreme Self is our true identity, universal and divine. Before you realize this truth…you will always be in despair.”

So how do we deal with the bumps and ruts that life throws in our path from time to time? How do we maintain our equilibrium, not give up or give in? Jane E. Brody stays nice to herself, Brian Wansink, PhD. stays mindful and Renee believes in moderation. The rest of us have to choose our own lifeboat and keep bailing.

- Nancy