Unless we can give up the old life, we can never experience the new. In our youth, we lived in the today and looked forward to the future and the challenge it would hold. As we matured, we became hypnotized by repetition and the habits of everyday life, feeling secure in our routine. So many times we find ourselves settling for what is a full cup of yesterdays. If you desire JOY in your life, have the courage to empty the cup of yesterdays so that it might be filled with the newness of today.
~ from CREATIVE THOUGHTS FOR INNER PEACE by William Thompson
Our cup of sorrow and joy, when lifted for others to see and celebrate, becomes a cup to life . . . Mostly, we are willing to look back at our lives and say: "I am grateful for the good things that brought me to this place.” But when we lift our cup to life, we must dare to say: "I am grateful for all that has happened to me and led me to this moment. This gratitude which embraces all or our past is what makes our life a true gift for others, because this gratitude erases bitterness, resentments, regret, and revenge as well as all jealousies and rivalries. It transforms our past into a fruitful gift for the future, and makes our life, all of it, into a life that gives life.
It is not easy to distinguish between doing what we are called to do and doing what we want to do. Our many wants can easily distract us from our true action. True action leads us to the fulfillment of our vocation. . . . Actions that lead to overwork, exhaustion, and burnout can't praise and glory God. What God calls us to do we can do and do well. When we listen in silence to God's voice and speak with our friends in trust we will know what we are called to do. We will do it with a grateful heart.
