Learning New Behaviour - Language 0f Letting Go
Nature Girl
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: By The Lake
Posts: 60,328
Learning New Behaviour - Language 0f Letting Go
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go
Learning New Behaviors
Sometimes we'll take a few steps backward. That's okay too. Sometimes it's necessary. Sometimes it's part of going forward.
—Codependent No More
Life is a Gentle Teacher. She wants to help us learn.
The lessons she wants to teach us are the ones we need to learn. Some say they are the lessons we chose to learn before we were born. Others say they are the lessons that were chosen for us.
It's frustrating to be in the midst of learning. It is like sitting in algebra class, listening to a teacher explain a subject beyond our comprehension. We do not understand, but the teacher takes the understanding for granted.
It may feel like someone is torturing us with messages that we shall never understand. We strain and strain. We become angry. Frustrated. Confused. Finally, in despair, we turn away, deciding that that formula will never be available to our mind.
Later, while taking a quiet walk, we break through. Quietly, the gift of understanding has reached that deepest place in us. We understand. We have learned. The next day in class, it's hard for us to imagine not knowing. It is hard to remember the frustration and confusion of those who have not yet caught on. It seems so easy . . . now.
Life is a Gentle Teacher. She will keep repeating the lesson until we learn. It is okay to become frustrated. Confused. Angry. Sometimes it is okay to despair. Then, it is okay to walk away and allow the breakthrough to come.
It shall.
Help me remember that frustration and confusion usually precede growth. If my situation is challenging me, it is because I'm learning something new, rising to a higher level of understanding. Help me be grateful, even in my frustration, that life is an exciting progression of lessons.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation.
Learning New Behaviors
Sometimes we'll take a few steps backward. That's okay too. Sometimes it's necessary. Sometimes it's part of going forward.
—Codependent No More
Life is a Gentle Teacher. She wants to help us learn.
The lessons she wants to teach us are the ones we need to learn. Some say they are the lessons we chose to learn before we were born. Others say they are the lessons that were chosen for us.
It's frustrating to be in the midst of learning. It is like sitting in algebra class, listening to a teacher explain a subject beyond our comprehension. We do not understand, but the teacher takes the understanding for granted.
It may feel like someone is torturing us with messages that we shall never understand. We strain and strain. We become angry. Frustrated. Confused. Finally, in despair, we turn away, deciding that that formula will never be available to our mind.
Later, while taking a quiet walk, we break through. Quietly, the gift of understanding has reached that deepest place in us. We understand. We have learned. The next day in class, it's hard for us to imagine not knowing. It is hard to remember the frustration and confusion of those who have not yet caught on. It seems so easy . . . now.
Life is a Gentle Teacher. She will keep repeating the lesson until we learn. It is okay to become frustrated. Confused. Angry. Sometimes it is okay to despair. Then, it is okay to walk away and allow the breakthrough to come.
It shall.
Help me remember that frustration and confusion usually precede growth. If my situation is challenging me, it is because I'm learning something new, rising to a higher level of understanding. Help me be grateful, even in my frustration, that life is an exciting progression of lessons.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation.
Nature Girl
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: By The Lake
Posts: 60,328
Later, while taking a quiet walk, we break through. Quietly, the gift of understanding has reached that deepest place in us. We understand. We have learned.
At first it was awkward learning new behaviours, my instinct was to do things the old way. But time had taught me the peril of that, so new behaviour was practiced until it too became instinctive.
Funny, I quit smoking about 6 months ago, just made a decision that smoking was dumb and unhealthy for me. I used my recovery tools to get through the rough days and today I welcome fresh air and better health. Again, new behaviour has taken me to a healthier place.
Hugs
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 178
Thanks Ann! What a beautiful post! I think sometimes life is not such a gentle teacher though. It seems to me that if you don't learn the lesson it's trying to teach you, the teachings can get quite brutal! Someone told me a long time ago that nightmares are just dreams that are getting stronger and stronger so that you'll listen to what they're trying to tell you. I've found the same in life.
Now I try to listen when I first hear the call to learn!
Now I try to listen when I first hear the call to learn!
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: The Jungle
Posts: 5,435
Gentle teacher? Not for slow learners like me. Life has found it necessary to really lay some 2x4 whacks upside my head for things to sink in! lol
I'll try to think of life as that gentle teacher though......I do appreciate the lessons I am learning but I sometimes think that I'm very thick headed!
gentle hugs
ke
I'll try to think of life as that gentle teacher though......I do appreciate the lessons I am learning but I sometimes think that I'm very thick headed!
gentle hugs
ke
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 216
Originally Posted by Kindeyes 
Gentle teacher? Not for slow learners like me. Life has found it necessary to really lay some 2x4 whacks upside my head for things to sink in
But I'm still thankful for the whacks...better than no lessons learned.
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