"There are no neurotics or geniuses or failures or fools. There are only neurotic moments, flashes of brilliance, failed opportunities, and stupid mistakes. But these moments, pleasant or unpleasant, can never fix us into rigid, immutable characters. We cannot help but change. This book is about choosing the direction of your changingness and acting upon your choice." ~ David K. Reynolds from Constructive Living
Constructive Living.
It's a book a friend and favorite author of mine, Dan Millman (The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, Everyday Enlightenment, Body Mind Mastery, etc.), recommended to me. I've always admired Dan and his work for his ability to blend East and West with an ultimate focus on ACTION. And, now I know why he recommended this book to me: it's an incredible manual on how to master ourselves and learn to take consistent, impeccable action.
Constructive Living is based on the fundamental notion that, although we can't control our feelings, we CAN control our behaviors. And, as a result, craft our ideal life. Or, as Reynolds says so poetically: "Our behavior is controllable in a way that our feelings are not. There is a very special satisfaction for the Artist of Living who works within life's limits to produce a fine self-portrait. The more control we develop over our actions, the more chance we have of producing a self we can be proud of."
Powerful stuff!
...
"Constructive Living offers a lifestyle of worth and dignity. But this mastery of life grows slowly, painfully, and only with effort. It requires attention, patience, self-discipline, honesty. It asks you to face your feelings, pleasant or unpleasant, to check out your purposes, large and small, to guide your own behavior, whatever the pain, in constructive directions. It advises you that when you fail, in that strain toward impeccability, that the suffering self is lost and a triumphant self is gained."
More Mojo from Constructive Living
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PhilosophersNotes on Constructive Living by David K. Reynolds | |||||
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