A New Vision: LifeClass

I will always be a student: this I know for sure.  My mind is opening up to new ways of thinking and approaching life.  I would always laugh at the thought of 'self-help', because it conjured up images of desperate people willing to brainwash themselves for the hope of a better way to look at life.  Well, if Oprah can get on board with it, so can I.  I love Oprah (not embarrassed to say so) and profound authors.  They have popped into my life recently, and happy to share what I have learned.

On Oprah's LifeClass these past two weeks featured Self Help Guru's, Iyanla Vanzant and Tony Robbins.  Their  message was almost exactly the same, if you want a better life, you gotta change your story.  Meaning, stop living in the past, living in fear and feeling sorry for yourself.  Give yourself a good kick in the pants and start working on becoming a better person.  In order to make a breakthrough in life, use your fear as power to throw yourself into a better strategy to get what you want/desire and stay in a quality state of mind.  I keep telling myself, happiness in a choice, it's easier to go through life with a smile, than continue to dwell on the sadness.  It seems simple enough, but I never really had the courage to do it.

Books I finished:

• A Sorrow Beyond Dreams, by Peter Handke.  This is a poignant, yet sad tale that chronicles the author's mother's life and her suicide.  His mother seemingly got caught up in her sad story and never found a way to get out of it.  Her fear was so strong that she couldn't step into the 'unknown' and make changes.  "And because your days were spent in unchanging associations, with the same things, they became sacred to you; not leisure but work was sweet.  Besides, there was nothing else."  "Instead of losing herself in her work, she took it in stride; consequently she was discontented."
• The Zahir, by Paulo Coelho.  After just finishing The Alchemist, I had to get my hands on another book by this author.  He hasn't disappointed yet.  The story revolves around an obsession (the Zahir) to find his missing wife, understand why she left him in the first place and to free himself of his story.  I can relate to this book on many levels and took me on a journey to free myself.  "When I had nothing more to lose, I was given everything.  When I ceased to be who I am, I found myself. When I experienced humiliation and yet kept on walking, I understood that I was free to choose my destiny."