We live in a world which is always exhorting us to be more, to do more, to set our sights high and keep raising the bar.  Satisfaction and contentment are an anathema to this world for what would happen if we said, “Enough?”

For a start there would be a lot of unwanted goods on the shelves and a lot of tills would stop ringing.  We are told that this would be a catastrophe for the world.  The world needs customers, profits must be generated so everyone will be happy.  Really?  Is continual consumerism really the route to happiness.  Will more and more stuff finally bring us contentment?  The evidence seems to say no.

More importantly, is a continual search for self-improvement  ever going to bring us the contentment that we say we crave, or are we simply creating more distance?  Will we ever be good enough?

I wrote “SELF ACCEPTANCE” to highlight the question to myself.  What would it be like to stop the striving and start accepting?  What would it be like to relax and just be?

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• How do you feel about letting go?
• How would you feel about moving from self -improvement to self acceptance?
• What can you share that might be of help to others?

Please leave your comments.  I would love to hear from you.

Corinne

POEM FOR TODAY

SELF ACCEPTANCE

To set about accepting, well that surely is a change,

And to set our sights on what is near and not what’s out of range,

And to seek out satisfaction in what’s lying close at hand

Well that’s almost sacrilegious; surely someone said that’s banned.

What would happen if we simply said for now enough’s enough

And we’re just not interested in pursuing yet more stuff,

We’ll content ourselves with what is here, what’s lying within reach,

And today we’ll turn deaf ears to what it is you would us teach.

Yes, for now we’re going to listen to the wisdom of our heart

And not let it be eclipsed by something else that we should start,

We will rest upon our laurels, yes we will, just for today,

And we’ll pay heed to a heart that has important things to say

If we’ll still for just a moment, simply coming to a halt,

We’ll resist those little whispers that are always finding fault

And today we’ll stay determined that their grievances we’ll bar

And explore what we are feeling, and accept the who we are.

© Corinne Shields, 2012

If you enjoyed “SELF ACCEPTANCE” please pass it on.

You can find more inspirational poetry in

“A String of Pearls, a Yearbook of Daily Inspiration to Soothe the Soul and Rekindle the Spirit”

And no retreat would be complete without something lovely to look at, so here’s the

PICTURE FOR TODAY

All at sea

And just before you go …….

Take what you like and leave the rest!!!

Whilst Dr Stephen Briers’ book  “Psychobabble – Exploding the Myths of the Self-Help Generation” may have made me question alot of what I may have previously held dear, I was pleased to find that at least one of my favourite predilections does find favour on his pages.

Happily, when it comes to Mindfulness Meditation, Dr Briers does appear to be a fan.

With regards to contentment, Dr Briers points out that goal setting, a  statement that we will only be satisfied when we get what we want, is an enemy of contentment.  He suggests that maybe we need to be thinking more about how we can escape the trap of own desires in the first place.  This, he says, is the central idea in many eastern philosophies including Buddhism and Taoism.  He goes on to say,

“We should also acknowledge that the practice of mindfulness, which encourages people to be fully present in the moment without concern for past or future, is also proving highly effective in outcome studies as  a treatment for depression in the West and in producing stable improvements in people’s quality of life.”

Dr Briers is a stickler for scientific research as a basis of his findings, and I must say I was very pleased to find that Mindfulness seems to be holding its own in the face of scientific rigour.

If you have read this far, please do leave me a comment, share an opinion or leave a favourite quote on the Inspirational Quotes page for others to enjoy.

May we all be peaceful and at ease.

Have a good day

Corinne