Excerpts from my morning reading - IF LIFE is a GAME, THESE are the RULES by Cherie Carter Scott Ph. D.

"Growth is a process of experimentation, a series of trials, errors and occasional victories. The failed experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that work . . . ultimately leading to wisdom.

. . . Most people feel great disappointment and anger when their plans in which they've invested a great deal of energy, time and money fall through. The first reaction for most of us is to feel that we have failed. While it is easy enough to jump to this depressing conclusion, it will impede your ability to progress with your life lessons.

Rather than viewing your own mistakes as failures and others' mistakes as slights, you can view them as opportunities to learn. As Emerson said, "Every calamity is a spur and a valuable hint." Every situation in which you do not live up to your own expectations is an opportunity to learn something important about your own thoughts and behaviors. Every situation in which you feel "wronged" by another is a chance to learn something about your reactions. Whether it is your own wrongdoing or someone else's, a mistake is simply an opportunity to evolve further along your spiritual path.

When you consider the hardships of life - the disappointment, hurts, losses, illnesses, all the tragedies you may suffer - and shift your perception to see them as opportunities for learning and growth, you become empowered. You can take charge of your life and rise to its challenges, instead of feeling defeated, victimized or cast adrift." 

"I think gentleness is one of the most disarmingly and captivatingly attractive qualities there are." 
                                                                                                                                          Nayyirah Waheed

Gentleness is attractive in both genders and in all ages. I appreciate the gentle souls that touch my busy, chaotic life. They certainly inspire a gentler attitude in me and they remind me to slow down and breathe.