Don’t waste your time…

February 14, 2025


The Best of Jack’s Winning Words – Originally posted August 10, 2017.


“Life appears to me too short to be spent nursing animosities.” (Charlotte Bronte) In Alice in Wonderland, White Rabbit says: “So little time. So much to do.” I’m on the same page with him. So was Jim Croce. “There never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do.” Even though you might not want to do it, Bronte suggests that getting rid of animosity is one thing that needs doing before life’s end. If you have a hatchet that needs burying, do it today. 😉 Jack


Animosity is just one of the timewasters that I can think of. Others include hate, prejudice, jealousy, and envy. Putting those things behind you allows you to focus your energy on positive things and relationships.


Letting animosities fester many times leads to wasting even more time plotting revenge and always takes you to a dark place where you really don’t want to be. Revenge, like the animosity that drives that need is best relegated to the rubbish bin. The old saw that “revenge is a dish best served cold” should be replaced with “revenge is a dish best not served at all.”
Perhaps it is the wisdom that comes with getting old that has helped me see this more clearly now. Time for an elderly person becomes the most precious thing that they have and they don’t want to waste it on unimportant things like animosities.


In the song “Let it be” written by John Lennon he appeals to the virgin Mary, but it can be generalized as an appeal to God. The reply from Mary (God) in the song for dealing with adversities is, “Let it be.” Jesus used the phrase “Be at peace”, which may be thought of as a way to let it be. That is good advice or dealing with animosities and other hatred that may be controlling your life.


The quickest way that I’ve fond to let it be and be at peace is to surrender to God’s will with the little prayer, “Not my will but thy will be done.” That little prayer takes whatever it may be that is consuming you off your plate and hands it to God. There is a palpable sense of relief that will come over you if you sincerely pray that prayer.


So, don’t waste your time holding grudges and animosities. Life is too short. Give those things to God. Let it be and be at peace.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Three little words that will change your life…Let it be (12 of ?)

April 2, 2014

Sometimes the simplest little things can have big impact on our lives. In this series of posts I examine very short sentences (each just three words long) that can make a difference in your life. If you have a three word sentence that changed your life somehow, share it with me and I will share it with the world.

The Beatles song Let It Be is considered by many to be the best song ever written. Paul McCartney wrote it and Beatles recorded it in 1969, although it did not come out until after the Abbey Road album on the 1970 album Let be Album. McCartney has consistently claimed that he wrote the song with his mother Mary McCartney in mind. She had died when Paul was 14 and he had fond memories of her that come through in the song. Most thought that Mother Mary was a biblical reference to the Virgin Mary and McCartney has said that he’s OK with that. To listen to the song click here and to read the lyrics click here.

Lyricists are some of our best poets. Do you remember songs that made you cry or that made you happy? Maybe it is the “our song” of your first romance or the song that summed up the pain and emptiness of your first breakup. Do you remember the songs at your wedding? Songs can have and do have great impact on peoples lives. I still recall many of the songs that I found to be particularly meaningful at the time and several were by the Beatles.

While the advice in today’s three little words did make up the tag line of that famous Beatles song; that is not why heeding them can change your life. I’ve already written about being at peace and the wonderful benefits of that (see post 4 in this series). Sometimes you have to heed today’s advice before you can get to a state of peace, you have to Let It Be.

It is easier said than done to let some things be. Sometimes there is anger involved, so letting it be involves stopping and cooling down. Sometimes there is sadness involved and that may require that you cry it out before you can let it be. Sometimes it is disappointment or a let down and one must stop admit that the world did not just come to an end and you can let it be and get on with life. Sometimes it may actually be a happy occasion that you really don’t want to every end, but you must let it be and move it on to become a happy memory. Whatever it is or was, it has passed when you Let It Be.

Not all problems or issue in life have a solution, something that you can do to change things or make it right. There are things in life that must be dealt with, and I offered some advice on those in post # 8 in this series. Other things that you encounter or that happen to you are best handled by just finding the best way to cope and moving on – Let It Be.

We have also discussed in this series your role to be there for others (see the last  post).  If  the trouble is not about you but you are an observer of someone who is struggling with an issue, a loss or an intractable problem that has them down in the dumps, maybe you can be the one to whisper to them  the words of wisdom – Let It Be.

If you do that for someone else you may well find that there are now two people who are now ready to Be At Peace, because the first step to getting to a state of peace is often to Let It Be.

So, have a great day and if things occur that upset you…well you know what! Go play the song again. It will make you feel better.

 

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Posted by Norm Werner