Awakening

I woke up early this morning. Early enough for a sunrise hot tub. Yay.

And as I sat in the orange pink stillness my mind wandered to the book I started skimming last night – Anthony de Mello's Stop Fixing Yourself: Wake up, All is Well.

While there's likely more wisdom in the book than my skimming revealed, something in the chapter about attachment really stuck to my brain – something my friend Dave has been trying to help me see since I met him:

“What makes you happy or unhappy is not the world and the people around you, but the thinking in your head.”

And while I've seen this (intellectually) for some time, I only deeply understood it this morning. Sitting in the orange pink stillness – in a moment of clarity – I laughed uncontrollably.

The realization that nobody – other than me – can hurt me and that nothing – other than me – is required to be happy is powerful – and, apparently, quite funny.