Going back over your mistakes, asking yourself painful questions and giving honest answers is a difficult, but cathartic experience.
We’ve all made mistakes in life, some more serious than others, but thinking them through, trying to explain why you made that decision at that point in time, makes you re-examine your own values. In my case, having changed through my Buddhist Practice, it also becomes clear that I would have made different decisions in many cases.
Our history is set in stone, we cannot go back and make those decisions anew. But we can try to make amends, apologise for any hurt we have caused, and, above all, be honest with ourselves and others.
The changes in myself, that I see and feel, the way I view life, and my responsibility for events affecting me and people around me, have come about through my Practice and my study of Nichiren Buddhism.
As I have said before, once you see things in a different light, you cannot undo that change. Nor would I want to, because even though I know I will make other mistakes in the future, I know that those mistakes will be made despite honourable intentions, and with a great deal more Wisdom, Courage and Compassion.
So many things in life, although they may seem very different, are actually the opposite sides of the same coin. Good and evil, love and hate, passion and obsession are so close to one another when we look at the causes behind each of them.
Determination grows out of adversity. To accomplish an easy or pleasant task does not require determination, it is the difficult or unpleasant task that most definitely does.
Challenges we set ourselves can be easy, or they can be hard. Generally speaking, the challenges that are worth setting, take us well out of our comfort zone. So what is the secret of success in such a situation?
Life is a journey full of possibilities, for which we have to make decisions, and for which in turn, we are all accountable.
What happens in your life all comes down to you. Do not rely on others, or wait for them to do something. Try to develop such a strong sense of responsibility, that you can stand up to the fiercest of challenges, confidently proclaiming, “I can do it, I will succeed”
Now you know that Monday isn’t my favourite day. A whole weekend worth of questions and issues, a change of email servers, and really terrible weather making for a late start. The perfect storm, literally.
Well it’s taken a whole week to get here, but finally Friday has arrived again. I know what you are saying, you were going to fill every minute, of every day, with sixty seconds of gainful employment, and I have. But doing that doesn’t stop me being pleased that, arguably, the best day of the week has put in a much appreciated appearance at last.
When we become submerged in difficult situations, when the way forward looks bleak and less than inviting, it can be tempting to start pointing a finger at others in order to find a way to lay the blame at their door.
It may seem to be a strange thing to say, but our happiness, or otherwise, is actually a choice we make for ourselves. It’s basically tied to the way we view the challenges that life throws at us.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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