On our way north last week we were listening to Dr. Laura, and while I often find her style a bit harsh and abrasive, it will likely come as a surprise to no one that she is Chris' hero.
There is no doubt that Dr Laura says it like it is and has very good and logical advice, especially for those of us who tend to make more of life's decisions based on emotions as opposed to logic. One of the callers called in about trying to reason with a 3 year old which, of course, Dr. Laura was very quick to respond, "there IS no reasoning with a 3 year old". She then proceeded to say..."the gap between our expectations and reality is called frustration." Wow...let it soak in...so very simple and yet SO profound. "The gap between our expectations and reality is called frustration."
I also once heard Barbara Streisand being interviewed and shared the same message using different words. She stated that she realized late in life that pretty much all the suffering in her life had been self imposed and was a result of her "resistance to what is."
Thought this message was worth passing on and might serve as a reminder to all of us...to take a look at our daily frustrations and come to grips with the fact that likely what is needed is for us to adjust our expectations so that they are more in line with our reality. Instead of that incessant chatter in our brains that tends to wish for "how it should be" or the chatter that says "I wish I were," perhaps its time for an attitude adjustment. An acceptance of how things are and a willingness to be OK with it. Be prepared to feel lighter and more at peace as you let go of a layer of frustration and self imposed suffering in your life.
Seem like an overwhelming task?? How about you start by picking one area of your life where you experience a lot of frustration on a daily basis and let today be the day where you start letting go of that frustration by learning to accept your reality.
