Learning about changing our attitudes, reactions, and behavior is just the first step. We must “walk the talk.” We must put into action what we’ve learned. Without doing that, it is like a chocolate cake without the chocolate. It is like fondue without the cheese. Mindfulness plays a crucial role alerting us to what we need and when we need it. Observing our inner thoughts and feelings in the present alerts us to harmful attitudes and emotions. That is when we intervene and put into practice transforming anger into tolerance, jealousy into appreciation, arrogance into humility, selfishness into love, and misunderstanding into insight. These interventions will not work the first time since our harmful habits are so ingrained for such a long time. Persistence with the attitude of “never giving up” is essential.
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