Equanimity
“I am convinced, the longer live, that life and its blessings are not so entirely unjustly distributed (as) when we are suffering greatly we are so inclined to suppose.” ~ Mary Todd Lincoln
“The attitude “Why me?” hints at the little compassion we generally feel for others’ suffering. Our empathy with others, even our awareness of their suffering, is generally minimal. We are much too involved in our own. Were we less self-centered, we’d see that blessings and tragedies visit us all, in equal amounts. Some people respond to their blessings with equanimity, and they quietly remove the sting from their tragedies. We can learn to do both.
Recovery is learning new responses, feeling and behaving in healthier ways. We need not get caught by self-pity. We can always feel it coming on. And we can let it go.
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Self-pity may beckon today. Fortunately, I have learned I have other choices.” Each Day a New Beginning, Daily Meditations for Women; Hazeldon, 1982, Pg June 29, 2012
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Equanimity: “noun, meaning evenness of mind under stress; a habit of mind that is only rarely disturbed under great strain; Composure implies the controlling of emotional or mental agitation by an effort of will or as a matter of habit” Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, Springfield MA, 1994
