Thursday, August 7, 2014

determination

I haven't changed my quote for quite a while because nothing jumped out and spoke to me when i flipped through my commonplace book.
{and, mayhaps i couldn't find my commonplace book for a goodly amount of time}
       Anyhoo, i've been doing a lot of cleaning and purging and rearranging as i prepare the studio to offer classes, running across pieces of my past that make me laugh, cry and feel bittersweet.
This evening i found a quote from Martha Washington that i'd scrawled on a receipt at some point which never got copied into the book. It captures how i feel at this moment:

I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.

I will not claim that it is always easy to look for the silver lining or keep your eyes open to beauty when you are surrounded by bleakness or filled with doubt, but it is important to me to always at least try.

2 comments:

Kaaren said...

That's a good one.

Rea said...

Great Reminder! And I think Martha got it from Paul:


Phil 4:11-13 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.