Most of us find it difficult to say "No" and then find we can't live with our yesses. Each of us should ask ourself if we truly have the courage and self-respect to avoid, or walk away from, people and situations that we do not like. If not, why not? What is it we fear? What others may think of you? Whatever image you have of yourself, if you are miserable, is false. It is hard enough to live up to the false image you have of yourself, let alone the false images others have of you.

The bottom line of every problem you face, or will ever face, is "which path shall I choose, fear or faith?" Faith in yourself and the God within you. Courage is not the absence of fear but the mastery of it. After all, fear requires imagination. It begins when you focus your mind on the last thing you want to have happen. That requires imagination. The dreaded 'what if....' syndrome.

Everybody wants to go to heaven - but nobody wants to die. We all want to be happy but are too frightened to walk away from our misery. The journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step. That step takes courage, the rest unfolds according to your fear or faith.

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." ... Goethe.

It is perfectly natural to have healthy fears such as drinking arsenic, jumping off speeding trains, or having sex with gorillas. You know such things are dangerous and you choose not to do them. These same fears become unhealthy when you begin to fear that they MIGHT happen to you. The 'what if' syndrome once again.

When we are not being in the present moment and are living in the past through memories, or in the future through anticipations, we might as well make them happy ones. We do have a choice. You get what you concentrate on. Through meditation you can become consciously aware of where you are placing the focus of your mind. Just as a good athlete trains to gain mastery of his body, so must we train to gain mastery of our mind; and thereby our thoughts, imagination and emotions. It is through the focus of our thoughts that we attract our experience.

"The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it." ...Marcus Aurelius.

Most of us would look at that statement and see it as some sort of philosophy, not realising that it is a profoundly practical comment. Once again we see without perceiving and hear without understanding. There are permanent conditions except change. All things are in a state of flux. Do not cling to a past event, or a present situation, as a permanent condition which causes you pleasure or pain. Such clinging results in suffering. Do not put the authority for your own happiness, or suffering for that matter outside of your own mind. Dare to move on.