I had another speech to give today. It wasn't too bad because it was an oral reading presentation where we got to stand behind a podium and read from our selection.I had chosen The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. It was a pretty inspiring book that I had read coming out of high school. Life was rough and this book sort of randomly popped up at me while walking through the bookstore.
The book basically tells us that we are always dreaming and that the 'dream of the planet' was created by those that came before us. They established 'agreements' for us in order to 'domesticate' us by hooking our attention to things that will create us to conform to the dream.
It sounds a little out there, but it really helped me. The book goes on to say how we have to abolish our old agreements if we want our life to change, and establish four essential agreements with ourselves:
Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
Don’t take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
Don’t make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
It really was a good book that helped me get through a lot. With everything that's been going on, I should probably reread it.
