SEEING THE FUNNY SIDE

Sometimes I read an author and I wish that I could spend time with them, receiving their wisdom, being coached by them or simply hanging out and shooting the breeze.

One such man is Anthony de Mello, teacher, priest and therapist.

He likely had that glint in the eye, seeing through all the seriousness we impart on life, marvelling at the cosmic comedy we are a minuscule player in.

I love this book, well-thumbed and one that I sometimes share with clients. The theme? Waking up…

Simultaneously enlightening, hilarious, provocative, soothing and confrontational. You CAN handle the truth…One choice quote for your reflections:

“We always want someone else to change so that we will feel good. But has it ever struck you that even if your wife changes or your husband changes, what do you do? You’re just as vulnerable as before; you’re just as idiotic as before; you’re just as asleep as before. You are the one who needs to change, who needs to take medicine. You keep insisting, “I feel good because the world is right.” Wrong! The world is right because I feel good. That’s what all the mystics are saying.”

How much of life do we spend on autopilot, playing out our programming, reacting from the past, experiencing what we expect, not what is, resisting rather than embracing reality.

As ‘Tony’ would have shouted at me over a glass of wine:

“DON’T WAKE UP! WHY? YOU DON’T REALLY WANT TO, DO YOU?”