By Anna Jorgensen | Elephant Journal
Some thoughts are classic and wise, and they way you identify them is that they hold up to the test of time. Don Miguel Ruiz’s five Toltec agreements are like that. These are life agreements that are worth adopting for good.
1. Be impeccable with your word.
But!~
If we lead with loving intentions, and a do not harm attitude, we can go to sleep at night with peace in our hearts.
2. Don’t take anything personally.
Again, no matter what we do or say, the reactions we receive from others is about them not us, even when we violate the first agreement! When we remember that the reaction of others is about their take on life we can give ourselves a break from having to try to be perfect in our actions, reactions and communications.
This doesn’t mean ignoring the do no harm ideal, but it does relieve us when we feel we have abided that agreement and we’re still misunderstood.
We all project at times, and we tend to get triggered when something hits a hot button that may be true at some level.
(Though not always.)
3. Don’t make assumptions.
What’s the old adage? Assumptions make an ass of you and me. If everyone is living in their own fantasy world then it would stand to reason that they’re not in our made up world. Most of us aren’t mind readers. Rather than think he should know what I want, why not make it clear by stating it?
Ask for what we want. Ask questions to clarify actions that hurt or confuse us rather than presupposing that the other person automatically thinks like us or should know better. Practice open-mindedness. And if you’re going to make an assumption, I guarantee you’ll feel better giving the person the benefit of the doubt, even if that doesn’t turn out to be the case. Assuming the worst makes us feel bad. Wouldn’t it be kinder to ourselves to assume the best and then deal with whatever the reality is?
We will be disappointed sometimes, sure, but going the alternate negative route means disappointment every time.
4. Always do your best.
Our best changes for day to day and sometimes moment to moment depending on what’s going on in our lives and how healthy we feel physically, emotionally and spiritually. We can offer the world more love when we start with ourselves.
We all mess up, but there’s no benefit in beating ourselves up over it. Let’s catch ourselves when we’ve stumbled off the path and take note without self-punishment. Hurt people hurt people. Sometimes we hurt others, which ultimately hurts us.
This is life.
Forgiving ourselves makes it a lot easier to make amends and asking for forgiveness from others as well as forgiving others for their weaknesses and imperfections.
