The following quote can be found in One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
"The Al-Anon slogans are little pieces of advice. If we were entirely capable of putting them all into practice, we'd be pretty close to perfection as spiritual human beings.
Live and Let Live. A whole philosophy of life is condensed into these four words. First, we are admonished to live—to live fully, richly, happily, and to fulfill our destiny with the joy that comes from doing well whatever we do. Then comes a more difficult admonition: Let Live. This means acknowledging the right of every other human being to live as (s)he wants to, without criticism or judgment from us. It rules out contempt for those who do not think as we do. It warns against resentment; tells us to avoid construing other people's actions as intentional injuries to us."
This reading blows my mind away every time! To Live and Let Live sounds so simple; however, to put these words consistently into practice in my life is a real challenge. To do so, I must really slow down and practice humility—being humble. What do I mean? It means practicing acceptance of those around me and what they do. It means responding thoughtfully to others and their actions instead of reacting and placing my values and beliefs on them. It means allowing the universe to unfold in exactly the way it is meant to unfold.
Personally, my humility is strongly based in my faith that the universe will provide for all of my needs, not necessarily for all of my wants. Through experience, I have learned not getting what one wants can be a beautiful stroke of luck!
How do you practice the slogans in your life? Do you have a particular message that you live by? How do you uphold that message when life gets hectic and you get tired or scared?