Are You Open And Resilient?

Today is the day for the final exam in Counseling Theory and Practice course I teach at a local university.  The students this semester have been exceptional both in their openness to learning and in dealing with the challenges they face in their own lives.  The clients in my treatment program also have been open to learn and seem determined their lives forward even in the midst of the chaos their addictions have caused.  What keeps you open to learning and helps you stay resilient even in the most trying of times?

The answer is that your openness and your resilience are both what you are wired to be.  You are meant to be open and receptive to learning so that you can grow and evolve.  Your resilience is part of what you are made of as a human being.  You are meant to survive as a biological imperative programmed into you brain.  Yes you are a living being set to survive and thrive. 

What causes you to closed down or become rigid?  This being closed, rigid and inflexible usually begins in the mind.  The mind may be conditioned to have a fear agenda and be protectively uptight.  The mind may also be jammed up with beliefs that seriously need to be questioned.  The ego likes to play the expert and controller while riding herd over the mind and keeping it from wandering away from the control of the predictable. 

Rigid and close-minded thinking is not only a great cause of problems in people but also in the world.  The mind is endlessly flexible but too often beliefs and ideology dominate over rational and clear thinking.  It seems time for the self-limiting mind to be replaced by infinitely potential mind.

A powerful source for expanding openness and resilience is compassion for yourself and others.  The heart is a natural opener and wants you to expand. The heart is a driving force to keep you going when the going gets tough.  An open heart opens you to what is possible and that is often very uplifting. 

Speaking of heart’s compassion, which is often a topic here at the Explore Life Journal, I was thinking it is time for a revolution of compassion.  Those without true compassion have been running the world for way too long.  Today I am inspired to write a book about revolution in the form of a great compassionate movement that really does care about people more that profits and power.  Stay tuned to see when I get some ideas on paper (word document) because I plan to keep you informed as I go.   

Have an inspired day and let your heart guide you.