My Harbor

As you know, I am reading Eat. Pray. Love. for a second time.

I love this book so much.

I love that I am getting out of it different ideas and concepts than I did when I read it in June of 2019.

Yesterday, Liz was discussing how she really learned that she could and needed to take charge of her own thoughts.

Richard from Texas (my person!) was explaining to her that we need to admit to the existence of negative thoughts, understand where they are coming from, and why they arrived, and then - with great forgiveness and fortitude - dismiss them.

Liz went on and wrote this (read this slowly and very intentionally):

I repeat a vow that "I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore."

This island (me) has been through some wars, it is true, but it is now committed to peace, under a new leader (me) who has instituted new policies to protect the place. And now - let the word go out across the seven seas - there are much, much stricter laws on the books about who may enter this harbor...

You may not come here anymore with your hard and abusive thoughts, with your plague ships of thoughts, with your slave ships of thoughts, with your warships of thoughts - all these will be turned away. Likewise, any thoughts that are filled with angry or starving exiles, with malcontents and pamphleteers, mutineers and violent assassins, desperate prostitutes, pimps and seditious stowaways - you may not come here anymore, either. Even missionaries will be screened carefully, for sincerity. This is a peaceful harbor, the entryway to a fine and proud island that is only now beginning to cultivate tranquility. If you can abide by these new laws, my dear thoughts, then you are welcome in my mind - otherwise, I shall turn you all back toward the sea from whence you came.

What are the rules of your harbor?

What are you allowing and disallowing in your harbor?

Are you holding fast to those policies?