We’ve probably all heard the expression “life is what you make it.” We may have heard it many times before, but how often do we actually believe it and more importantly, take it to heart and act on it? Read on to learn more…
So many of us are on what seems like a never ending journey to find peace, happiness and personal fulfillment. We look and we read and we try all sorts of fads and techniques, only to come full circle back to where we started. What if that’s because we keep forgetting that life is in fact, what we make it?
I recently discovered a quote from author Byron Katie and her words made complete sense. After reading just one of her quotes, I was like “Yes! That’s it…she’s got it!” Encouraged by that one quote, I searched for more and sure enough, each quote invigorated me and really made me think long and hard about relationships, love, happiness and so much more.
I’m happy to share some of those Katie Byron quotes with our readers and I’m confident you’ll find them to be as inspiring as I have. From Byron Katie:
“As long as you think that the cause of your problem is “out there”—as long as you think that anyone or anything is responsible for your suffering—the situation is hopeless. It means that you are forever in the role of victim, that you’re suffering in paradise.”
“Since the beginning of time, people have been trying to change the world so that they can be happy. This hasn’t ever worked, because it approaches the problem backward. What The Work gives us is a way to change the projector—mind—rather than the projected. It’s like when there’s a piece of lint on a projector’s lens. We think there’s a flaw on the screen, and we try to change this person and that person, whomever the flaw appears on next. But it’s futile to try to change the projected images. Once we realize where the lint is, we can clear the lens itself. This is the end of suffering, and the beginning of a little joy in paradise.”
“Isn’t it marvelous to discover that you’re the one you’ve been waiting for? That you are your own freedom?”
“The world is your perception of it. Inside and outside always match – they’re reflections of each other. The world is a mirror image of your mind.”
“A thought is harmless unless we believe it. It’s not our thoughts, but our attachment to our thoughts, that causes suffering. Attaching to a thought means believing that it’s true, without inquiring. A belief is a thought that we’ve been attaching to, often for years.”
“Placing the blame or judgment on someone else leaves you powerless to change your experience; taking responsibility for your beliefs and judgments gives you the power to change them”
“Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity. There’s a natural balance in things. If you go too far to one extreme, life kindly brings you back toward the center. What goes up must come down, and what comes down must go up. Up and down are different aspects of the same thing. So are inside and outside. Most people think that the world is outside them. They live life backward, running after security and approval, as if by making enough money or getting enough praise they could be happy once and for all. But nothing outside us can give us what we’re really looking for. I do my work and don’t even need to step back from it, because it never belonged to me in the first place. Nothing belongs to me. Everything comes and goes. Serenity is an open door.”
“How do you react when you think you need people’s love? Do you become a slave for their approval? Do you live an inauthentic life because you can’t bear the thought that they might disapprove of you? Do you try to figure out how they would like you to be, and then try to become that, like a chameleon? In fact, you never really get their love. You turn into someone you aren’t, and then when they say “I love you,” you can’t believe it, because they’re loving a facade. They’re loving someone who doesn’t even exist, the person you’re pretending to be. It’s difficult to seek other people’s love. It’s deadly. In seeking it, you lose what is genuine. This is the prison we create for ourselves as we seek what we already have.”
“The miracle of love comes to you in the presence of the uninterpreted moment. If you are mentally somewhere else, you miss real life.”
“Peace doesn’t require two people; it requires only one. It has to be you. The problem begins and ends there.”
There is so much to glean from these words of wisdom. Which ones did you find most inspirational?
Learn more about Byron Katie here.