To all my fellow Peace Rebels

 

Six months ago I applied for the June 2011 Fellowship, eager to participate in the Peace Revolution programme. I began my self-development programme with the same determination I approach all projects that excite me. Even though I enjoyed every session, my enthusiasm soon fizzled out and I had many doubts about attending the programme in June.

 

Recently I began to wonder about my indecision and this is what I learnt about myself:

1.    When I begin a project I am always focussed on the end result

2.    I pressure myself into doing and being the best no matter what the cost

3.    Eventually I run out of steam and feel bamboozled by additional challenges that have arisen while buried in my single-focus

4.    I realise that the end result I had predicted may not be attainable

5.    So I decide to give up completely instead of wasting my time and energy or risking disappointment and embarrassment

 

I am writing this to you because perhaps someone else can relate. In a conversation with my friend about the Peace Revolution self-development programme, I realised how much I had grown in the few sessions of meditation and reflection I had done. This programme has offered me a simple path to inner-peace that brings joy and clarity into my everyday life. If I focus on the outcome and on the possibility of not receiving the fellowship, I may lose out on the value of this opportunity – it’s not in Thailand and it’s not in having a great story to tell. It’s in the thirty minutes I spend each day quietening my mind and connecting with my centre, my source.

 

I have had a very difficult year so far with one personal crisis after the other. This has spun me into several bouts of depression and that seemed like a good enough reason to withdraw my application for the June Fellowship. To be honest, I have woken up so late in the game there’s a good chance I may not be selected. But here’s the lesson I have learnt: I may not get that job I applied for, I may not receive the desired answer to my prayers, and I may not be selected for the June Fellowship. But out of those three possible disappointments I will gain an experience of my courage, my faith and my willingness to appreciate and work with the opportunities I am given, regardless of their outcome.

 

To live from our centre is to live in the present for that is where we find ourselves. I hope this offers some encouragement to those that need it.

 

PIPO

Charlene