Monday Musings and Motivations – Part Three – Understanding

I write these motivational posts as much for myself as for those who happen upon them and for the followers (thank you) that take the time out of their busy schedules to read, comment or “like” them.

I began these motivational Monday posts three weeks ago.  I think of Mondays as the start of a new week, new beginnings.  This one is about understanding.

A few years ago, a dear friend of mine was going through a difficult time, health-wise.  I’d always thought of him as a spiritual person, but he’d shrug all that off as nonsense.  I knew it was because of what he was going through.  I got him; understood him.

There are those people that are old souls.  You know the kind.  In the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey’s father tells his son:  You were just born older.  He’s like that.  ‘Old souls’ have a wisdom about them that others don’t and they see life through a different filter.  They’re usually not conformists, they’re very intelligent and they observe way more than they speak.

Through a series of accidental and intentional meetings, he got the help he needed.  It’s those tiny and seemingly accidental miracles that sometimes matter the most.  It all begins with understanding.  The most miraculous thing is when it happens, it has a ripple effect and everyone involved has a better grasp of the situation, an awareness that they didn’t have before and things always, always improve.

We rush about our lives and forget that most of us are the same — we want to know that what we do/say matters and that we’re understood.  We’re all sharing the same human experience; just trying to figure it out and do the best we can.

I read somewhere once that when you and a stranger’s eyes meet and you both smile, it’s two souls connecting — a glimmer of understanding passes between the two.  I’d like to think that’s true.

I hope that if you or a loved one is going through a difficult time, you/they get the understanding that’s needed when it’s needed the most.  Here are some great quotes about understanding and have a marvelous Monday.

Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding. – Mahatma Gandhi

The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days. – Lao Tzu

Understanding is a two-way street. – Eleanor Roosevelt

The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding. – Leonardo da Vinci

Understanding can overcome any situation, however mysterious or insurmountable it may appear to be. – Norman Vincent Peale

Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding the third. – Marge Piercy

Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious. – Phillips Brooks

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.- Marie Curie

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. – Kahil Gibran