{"id":1743,"date":"2011-04-20T00:08:33","date_gmt":"2011-04-20T05:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743"},"modified":"2011-04-20T00:08:33","modified_gmt":"2011-04-20T05:08:33","slug":"taking-ourselves-and-the-situations-in-our-lives-too-seriously-is-not-a-necessary-part-of-the-growth-curve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743","title":{"rendered":"Taking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve."},"content":{"rendered":"

What a relief to be reminded by good friends, (and it takes a good, and brave friend to do it,) that we need not overreact to the common, ordinary situations that occur on a daily basis.\u00a0 As a matter of course, reacting<\/em><\/strong>, rather than making a calm choice to simply act, would describe many of us. \u00a0 And the situation that inspires the reaction is most often not even worth taking note of, let alone reacting to.<\/p>\n

Being too serious or over-reactive is often the result of being so self-absorbed that it results in having a very limited perspective on life.\u00a0 Me, me, me is the theme of too many people\u2019s lives. This perspective needs a complete over-haul and seldom gets it unless good friends dare to offer helpful suggestions.<\/p>\n

I was lucky in my early sobriety to have just such a friend in Rita.\u00a0 She stopped me in my tracks during a phone call, a story I shared earlier in this chapter.\u00a0 I never stopped thanking Rita for her words of truth.\u00a0 I needed the truth.\u00a0 I needed a friend who was brave enough to offer it.\u00a0 I needed to get off the poor-me couch and change my outlook on life if I wanted different experiences and a different outcome to some of the same old experiences.<\/p>\n

No one can change us just as we can change no one else.\u00a0 Change is a decision that must be made by each of us but feedback from others regarding their observations of how we respond to our shared experiences, might be the very suggestions or comments we need to commit to making an inventory of who we are in myriad situations.<\/p>\n

Knowing ourselves and changing what we should so we can grow in the ways that are important is why we are here, after all.\u00a0 Helping one another \u201csee \u201c what might be hidden to us, in a respectful way, might well be considered one of the reasons for any two people to have \u201cfound\u201d each other.\u00a0 At least it\u2019s an idea I find very accommodating. And comforting.<\/p>\n

There is purpose to our lives and assuredly, it\u2019s not to live trapped in problems, ours or other people\u2019s.\u00a0 We can, instead, define our problems as the \u201cclassroom lessons\u201d\u00a0 that are perfect for us and those we are sharing them with.\u00a0 Whining about them or complaining to friends or strangers or refusing to address them in a calm, rational way means we are choosing to live in the problems rather than moving forward on our learning curve.\u00a0 We can stay stuck, if that\u2019s our preference.\u00a0 Or we can say to each and every one of them, \u201cSo what!.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has become my preference in many instances to say so what rather than make a big deal of the many ordinary situations that arise, day in and day out, in my life or the life of a companion.\u00a0 I have found that the level of my peace is directly proportional to this decision to look away, walk away, disengage.\u00a0 Peace of mind is a choice and it can\u2019t be found if we wallow in problems.\u00a0 That\u2019s my perspective, at least.\u00a0 What\u2019s yours?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What a relief to be reminded by good friends, (and it takes a good, and brave friend to do it,) that we need not overreact to the common, ordinary situations that occur on a daily basis.\u00a0 As a matter of course, reacting, rather than making a calm choice to simply act, would describe many of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-circle-of-family-and-friends-you-and-your-personal-community"],"yoast_head":"\nTaking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve. | Karen Casey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve. | Karen Casey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What a relief to be reminded by good friends, (and it takes a good, and brave friend to do it,) that we need not overreact to the common, ordinary situations that occur on a daily basis.\u00a0 As a matter of course, reacting, rather than making a calm choice to simply act, would describe many of […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Karen Casey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-04-20T05:08:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"karencasey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"karencasey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=1743#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=1743\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"karencasey\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be42ec49697eba07d84ddf86ace97639\"},\"headline\":\"Taking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve.\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-20T05:08:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=1743\"},\"wordCount\":555,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Circle of Family and Friends - You and Your Personal Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=1743#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=1743\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=1743\",\"name\":\"Taking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve. | Karen Casey\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-20T05:08:33+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=1743#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=1743\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?p=1743#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Taking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Karen Casey\",\"description\":\"You are not alone, anymore\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Karen Casey\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/Karen-Casey_Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/Karen-Casey_Logo.png\",\"width\":1925,\"height\":396,\"caption\":\"Karen Casey\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be42ec49697eba07d84ddf86ace97639\",\"name\":\"karencasey\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"karencasey\"},\"description\":\"I am an author, a lecturer, and a workshop presenter. I have presented programs throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Ireland. As of July, 2010 I have published 23 books, with number 24 being released in spring of 2011 and a memoir underway. For a listing of my books and ordering information, go to www.womens-spirituality.com. To contact me about presenting a program in your area, call 239-398-6327 or e-mail me from my web site or at jcasey4991@aol.com\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.womens-spirituality.com\\\/?author=4\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Taking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve. | Karen Casey","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Taking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve. | Karen Casey","og_description":"What a relief to be reminded by good friends, (and it takes a good, and brave friend to do it,) that we need not overreact to the common, ordinary situations that occur on a daily basis.\u00a0 As a matter of course, reacting, rather than making a calm choice to simply act, would describe many of […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743","og_site_name":"Karen Casey","article_published_time":"2011-04-20T05:08:33+00:00","author":"karencasey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"karencasey","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743"},"author":{"name":"karencasey","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#\/schema\/person\/be42ec49697eba07d84ddf86ace97639"},"headline":"Taking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve.","datePublished":"2011-04-20T05:08:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743"},"wordCount":555,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Circle of Family and Friends - You and Your Personal Community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743","url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743","name":"Taking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve. | Karen Casey","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-04-20T05:08:33+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=1743#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Taking ourselves and the situations in our lives too seriously is not a necessary part of the growth curve."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/","name":"Karen Casey","description":"You are not alone, anymore","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#organization","name":"Karen Casey","url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Karen-Casey_Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Karen-Casey_Logo.png","width":1925,"height":396,"caption":"Karen Casey"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/#\/schema\/person\/be42ec49697eba07d84ddf86ace97639","name":"karencasey","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d716ba136efb23645023089393ecf4a985aa038929f77a8947d71f877283c6ac?s=96&r=g","caption":"karencasey"},"description":"I am an author, a lecturer, and a workshop presenter. I have presented programs throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Ireland. As of July, 2010 I have published 23 books, with number 24 being released in spring of 2011 and a memoir underway. For a listing of my books and ordering information, go to www.womens-spirituality.com. To contact me about presenting a program in your area, call 239-398-6327 or e-mail me from my web site or at jcasey4991@aol.com","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?author=4"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1743"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1745,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1743\/revisions\/1745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}