My will nots

[Stephanie Anne]

I made up a personal manifesto and thought it would be nice to share it here. All my struggles and triumphs have pretty much lead me to work on following these. Here goes...


I will not be afraid to get up in the morning
I will not shy away from my own reflection / image / appearance
I will not hate my body because someone / something tells me to
I will not be ashamed of my past mistakes
I will not rush into anything until i am ready
I will not deny that I am / others are beautiful
I will not let anyone take away my pride
I will not stand by and let someone suffer as I have
I will not accept being less than equal
I will not be embarrassed to acknowledge who I am / will be / was
I will not conform to someone else's normal
I will not forget I may be wrong
I will not let my prejudices get in the way of learning / growing / loving
I will not let my loneliness ruin my chance at love
I will not give up

[Kaitlyn Michele]

:hugs:

love it...especially the last one..

[Kathryn Martin]

I can't wait to see your "will do"s

[discoveringsophia]

I loved your list, too. All the items mesh well with a short saying that keeps me going:

We are what we think.
All that we are arises from our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
In this world
Hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispells hate.
This is the truth,
Ancient and inexhaustible.

- Dhammapadda, "Choices", condensed from stanzas 1 and 5.

If you have never read the Dhammapadda, I strongly recommend it. It is short and inspirational. (It might be a touch of hyperbole to say "it changed my life", but it may well have.)

[Sheila11]

As a person who likes to look on the positive side of things, can you turn the "I will not" into "I will"?

Such as:

I will treat others as I expect to be treated,
I will face each day as a day of opportunity,
I will accept me for who I am,
I will accept others for who they are,
I will look forward,
I will weigh the risks, then act,
I will accept that I, and not others, am in control,
I will help others, (be the girl scout)
I will live today as if it is my last.
Love, Give, Accept, Heal.

As a great philosopher/theologian once said;

"Have a beautiful daay in the neighborhood."

[Melissa A.]

That really is beautiful, Stephanie. Some nice words to live by.

Now, about that getting up in the morning thingy....

Hugs,

Melissa:)

[Stephanie Anne]

As a person who likes to look on the positive side of things, can you turn the "I will not" into "I will"?

I will not :p

[MJ]

I will live today as if it is my last.
Love, Give, Accept, Heal.

As a great philosopher/theologian once said;

"Have a beautiful daay in the neighborhood."

I agree ...