Reality Handbook
(A teen's journal of deep thoughts and other profundities)

Life is not a spectator sport.
And no,
eating a hot dog on the sidelines
is not participation.

You will learn to live
without shame or guilt
if you follow this one simple rule:
Others may choose to judge you,
but only you
can impose the sentence.

Punishment is a means through which
other people
can vent on you
their inability to deal with
your actions.

Mistakes
are also choices.
You are always free
to choose differently next time.

Your actions
can be morally right
or morally wrong...
depending on whose morals you use.
Are your actions
morally right for you today?

You hurt other people
when you don't accept them
for who they are.
You get hurt
by other people
when you don't accept them
for who they are.
Have you tried to change anyone today?

You already know
everything on these pages.
But life's experiences
will remind you
what you forgot.

Anger
is your
way of telling yourself
that your needs aren't being met.
What do you need?
How badly do you need it?
What's the best way for you to get it?
Ask yourself these questions
every once in a while
and watch what happens to your anger.

You can't run away from yourself
if you're the one doing the running.
Instead, try asking yourself
to get lost.
That way, you always have the option
of being found.

You have every right to feel hurt,
or angry,
or victimized
in the appropriate situations.
Likewise, everyone else
has the same rights.
When your feelings grow
into self-pity,
try walking a mile
in someone else's shoes.
But remember
that other people's shoes
can give you blisters.

Each lifetime
is a spiritual progression
toward perfection.
Expecting perfection
right now
is the same
as wishing for your own death.

Live each day
with complete honesty.
Remember also
you are always free
to choose a different truth.

Fear
is your way of knowing
that your instinct for
self-preservation
is still intact.
Now that you know
you are still alive,
how are you going
to solve this problem?

Each problem
presents
a new lesson for you to learn
a new direction for you to grow.
Even if you think
your life is full of problems,
you have more
to look forward to
than those who think they know it all.

Feeling unloved
is a symptom of your attempt
to look to the external world
in order to solve
an internal problem.
What some hear
as the world's callous silence
More advanced souls
hear as peace.

Why rush?
There is beauty in doing things
s l o w l y.
If you are reading this passage
directly after reading another one,
you are doing too much.
Go back
and read the other one again. It was
where you were meant to be.

Copyright ©1992 by Sheyna D. Galyan