News reports that Kevin Trudeau (the guy with all the natural cures) was sentenced to 10 years for exaggerating and lying, makes me sad (though not shocked) in the same way I was sad to learn that A Million Little Pieces was embellished (at the very least). In both cases I think these guys had great information and stories to share, but I believe greed got in the way. When James Fry penned his book about his battles with addiction, I thought it should have been on a mandatory reading list for middle or high school students. Much like Oprah, and the rest of us that loved his book, we felt cheated to learn that it wasn’t all true. I admit to purchasing one of Trudeau’s books as well, as I am all about natural cures, but in the book I bought, he never really told you what they were, suggesting that he would get in trouble by our government if he shared his secrets.
Additionally, as Rita and I discussed yesterday, I was a little disappointed (for lack of a better word) to learn that Deepak Chopra has an ex-wife. It is clearly none of my business, but as Rita articulated so well, we wonder if these people that we look to for wisdom, really “walk the walk.” Realizing that we are all human, and none of us are perfect, it just reminds me to be open-minded and question EVERYTHING…and certainly EVERY BOOK that claims to be non-fiction.
Yesterday morning I woke to a fabulous quote on my calendar, but because it was a holiday, I waited until this morning to post it. Though it is definitely not easy to follow every word, every time, there is NOTHING about this quote that I need to question and it makes for a great daily reminder!
“Every day, think as you wake up, Today I am fortunate to be alive. I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others. I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
–Insight from the Dalai Lama
I guess the moral of the story is to be open to learning, but question everything. Avoid greed because it is never a good thing. Use your energy positively, be kind and above all else, be grateful–and of course get a healthy, daily dose of some fitness and a lot of peace. Namaste………
