{"id":194,"date":"2011-09-27T15:44:59","date_gmt":"2011-09-27T19:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/insweetcompany\/?p=194"},"modified":"2011-09-27T15:44:59","modified_gmt":"2011-09-27T19:44:59","slug":"uplift-your-quotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/insweetcompany\/2011\/09\/uplift-your-quotes.html","title":{"rendered":"Uplift Your Quotes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>\u201cConformity and obedience, &#8230;. Do what you\u2019re told. Never get angry. Don\u2019t ruffle any feathers. These are the internal messages that hold us back. We have to learn to form our own opinions and trust our own perceptions. Especially women. Without this, we have no ethical independence.\u201d<\/em> &#8211;\u00a0 Sister Helen Prejean,\u00a0 IN SWEET COMPANY: CONVERSATIONS WITH EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN ABOUT LIVING A SPIRITUAL LIFE<\/p>\n<p>About once a week or so I get a list of \u201cuplifting quotes\u201d in my inbox from a well-meaning friend to brighten my day. These quotes are culled from the \u201cquotee\u2019s\u201d writing or life experience, a compilation of good thoughts that offer varying degrees of insight or inspiration.<\/p>\n<p>The last time I got one of these emails, i started thinking about what I might write were I to compose such a list. I jotted down a few ideas &#8212; not my definitive list, mind you, but a good start &#8212; to see where it might lead. It turned out to be an interesting exercise &#8212; sort of a lessons-learned, practices-I-still-want-to-continue kind of thing.<\/p>\n<p>See what you think.<\/p>\n<p>Stuff Margaret Thinks is Important<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The only person I can change is myself. This, in and of itself, is a big job, so quit trying to change others and just put your money where your mouth is and get on with it. Oh yeah; and be a good example.<\/li>\n<li>The longer I wait to change myself the more demanding it becomes and the longer it takes. Stop wasting time trying to convince yourself you don\u2019t really need to change. If you want to get Real, do it now. And do it right.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t stay afraid for too long. Tell yourself the Truth. Take responsibility for your thoughts and actions. Break that bugaboo down into manageable increments. Ask for help when you need it. You are more powerful than you know.<\/li>\n<li>Just because you have a brilliant idea or something inspires you doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s right to do. What\u2019s mine will come to me if I exercise discernment, courage, and patience.<\/li>\n<li>Pay attention! Listen to and act on your intuition. It knows more than you do.<\/li>\n<li>Get a handle on your thoughts and feelings.<\/li>\n<li>Think positive thoughts &#8212; about myself and others.\u00a0 It builds my immune system and magnetizes desired outcomes.<\/li>\n<li>Mistakes are just longer routes I take to get where I need to be.<\/li>\n<li>Work is love in action. Serve others. Be a good steward of what\u2019s been given you.<\/li>\n<li>Holding grudges is an utter waste of time and energy.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIf only &#8230;\u201d are the two worst words with which to begin a sentence.<\/li>\n<li>Be kind. Forgive. Be really, really grateful.<\/li>\n<li>Being present to others, to the world, to life, is more important than being perfect.<\/li>\n<li>Never compromise your integrity. Never justify what you believe; just live it. The heck with what others think!<\/li>\n<li>Anchor your life in a belief system that supports and nurtures you &#8212; something eternal, that stands the test of time; something universal that is inclusive and all-embracing.<\/li>\n<li>Develop a personal relationship with the God of your heart.<\/li>\n<li>Ask yourself this question whenever you get in a jam: \u201cIf I really believe that God is omnipresent, then what\u2019s the problem?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Be open to adventure. Give it your best shot, then trust in The Magic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your thoughts?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cConformity and obedience, &#8230;. Do what you\u2019re told. Never get angry. Don\u2019t ruffle any feathers. These are the internal messages that hold us back. We have to learn to form our own opinions and trust our own perceptions. Especially women. Without this, we have no ethical independence.\u201d &#8211;\u00a0 Sister Helen Prejean,\u00a0 IN SWEET COMPANY: CONVERSATIONS&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":231,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[84,28],"class_list":["post-194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-transformation","category-spiritual-journey","tag-tips-for-living-a-goood-life","tag-uplifting-quotes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Uplift Your Quotes - In Sweet Company<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/insweetcompany\/2011\/09\/uplift-your-quotes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Uplift Your Quotes - In Sweet Company\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cConformity and obedience, &#8230;. Do what you\u2019re told. Never get angry. Don\u2019t ruffle any feathers. These are the internal messages that hold us back. We have to learn to form our own opinions and trust our own perceptions. Especially women. 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She speaks and writes about things women care about: how to make our lives and our work be about what we value most; how to navigate challenge and change; how to live with integrity and grace, to look at error in ourselves and others in a forgiving way and view life as an invitation to transform ourselves into instruments for the Greater Good. \"I laughed, I cried, I was silent, I cheered. Most of all, I loved.\" Spoken by a woman at In Sweet Company Retreat, these words express what women experience when Margaret engages them in dynamic, soul-searching conversations about their lives. Margaret holds degrees in art therapy, psychosynthesis, and leadership and human behavior. Her work takes her to universities, to conferences and retreat settings, to living rooms and board rooms -- wherever women gather. Her articles, essays, and stories are featured in numerous magazines; her women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spirituality retreats are held throughout the U.S. Margaret\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s last book, In \"Sweet Company: Conversations With Extraordinary Women About Living a Spiritual Life\" (Jossey Bass), is a collection of intimate conversations she had with 14 famous women of various ages, faiths, and backgrounds about how their spirituality nourishes them and serves as a steady compass for their decision-making. Olympia Dukakis, Riane Eisler, Zainab Salbi, Margaret Wheatley, Sri Daya Mata, Lauren Artress, and other women artists, activists, religious leaders, and visionary thinkers shared their lives with her. 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