The Curse Of The Ledge

By Sarah Krivel

HOW many of us get trapped in the same pattern of behavior because it’s known and comfortable?

We stay in the same dead-end job or the same unfulfilling relationship or at the same less-than-ideal weight for days that turn into months and months that turn into years. 

Do you feel like you're 'Peering over the ledge'?

 The fact of the matter is that when we stand on the ledge looking down into the abyss, we freak out.

We can look behind us at the safety of the land and we know what we’re gonna get – the controlling boss or the absentee partner.

We know it’s not ideal and we know we need to do something about it, but we stay right where we’re at because well, the alternative is a crapshoot.

At the bottom of the fall may be a beautiful, sunlit grassy meadow or it may be a pit of snakes. We don’t know.

And not knowing keeps us trapped in patterns and habits we know we should break, but we just can’t bring ourselves to do it.

The idea of living life without regrets, or by being a ‘Yes’ person is certainly admirable.

Sometimes I wish I was the sort of person who always leapt before I looked, figuring it out as I went, but alas, I’m not. I’m an ‘over-thinker’.

No matter the situation, I think, ponder, analyze, over-analyze, rethink, re-ponder... well, you get the idea.

And this pattern is what keeps me on the ledge. No matter the situation, I can rationalize my way into and out of it a thousand times. And I’m stuck.

In the book “What Alice Forgot”, Alice wakes up from a concussion thinking she’s 10 years younger than she is.

That it’s 10 years before it actually is. And she realizes that her life is nothing like she had envisioned.

Now I’m not foolish enough to believe that all childhood dreams come true. That everyone can be an astronaut or a famous actress.

The realities of life sometimes stand in our way. But we are also not a victim to our circumstances.

We always have a choice.

We can always fight, or say ‘No’, or run, or quit. But that means leaping off the ledge. And often times, there’s nothing in the world scarier than that prospect.

And yet sometimes, there comes a moment of clarity. A lens sharpens either as a result of a life event or a universal shift, giving us just the nudge we need to do it.

Whatever it is. To leave the ledge.

Because at some point, we have to stop thinking and analyzing. We have to realize that no matter what happens, we have to act.

We cannot see our lives in ten years and be standing on the exact same ledge looking into the exact same abyss. We are meant to change.

To grow. To act. To react.

It won’t always be the beautiful meadow we hoped for. But sometimes, perhaps, it will be. The unknown will never be less scary than the known.

But it will be necessary.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9470800

Love Yourself To Truly Love Others

By Cassie Parks

WE, as humans, can debate just what it really means to love others, and just what that takes from us as individuals.

First, we need to at least loosely agree on what love is. Second, it’s important to understand that to love others you must love yourself.  

Do you love yourself enough for you to love others?

One good definition – and the most correct – is that love is a choice. It’s not something we fall into or out of, nor is it a divine inspiration.

Love, plain and simple, is a choice an individual makes.

Of course there are hormones, the emotional states of the people involved and societal pressures, which figure in and point us in one direction or another.

That’s the spark. It’s up to the people involved to bring the fire or smother it before there is a chance for real love to flare.

Understanding the choice

Once it’s understood what love is, the next step is to figure out that to be able to love others you must love yourself.

That doesn’t mean swoon over your image in a mirror or be spellbound by your own musings, just be comfortable in your own skin and your place in the world.

No deity will do that for you, nor will you find the key in another person. It’s something which has to radiate out of you.

Also, the ability to truly do it has to be earned. You have to be a person deserving your own love.

How do we get there?

One of the more maddening aspects of any piece describing a way to live better or with more understanding is that the goal falls into the old cliché of being easier said than done.

A great deal of self-introspection is needed to reach the point where the level of awareness is high enough to allow real self-love to blossom into an experience which is at once liberating and a heavy new responsibility.

To finally gain the veritable upper hand in the world of love by understanding yourself enough to appreciate your individuality and what you can bring to others.

You cannot love another person and yourself without loving humanity at a basic level.

You cannot be apart from the greater human experience. That doesn’t mean the same thing for everyone.

One person may bring that appreciation into full expression in an entirely different way than another.

The key is to be at peace with who you are and your part in the greater whole.

After that, the discovery of love at all levels is more fulfilling.

To find a partner and choose to fall in love will bring more enjoyment than you might have thought possible before your own awakening.

If you are already in a relationship and want to see it rise to new heights, seek self-awareness of love and build that back into your current status.

First, fall in love with who you are in order to love others.

It sounds like a simple formula, and in truth it is. The hardest part is taking the first step.

Look at yourself like you never have before, and ask what you can do to earn your own love. Once there, extrapolate that into all of your relationships.

Are you a woman and you want to learn how to gain confidence and love yourself more? You don’t have to be alone on this journey.

Our online courses will teach you how to increase your self confidence as you learn from women who are experts at different aspects of living a successful life joyously.

Come to our community where you can learn about how to love yourself.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7189662