Of I Thought I Knew

I have been reading the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" for quite some time now, and if you have read it too ... you probably have read Habit 1 - Be Proactive. Every time I read it, I think to myself ... "Yeah.I agree" and I thought that I understood what the author was talking about when he said;

"It's not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us that hurts us. Of course, things can hurt us physically or economically and can cause sorrow. But our character, our basic identity, does not have to be hurt at all."

All along ... I thought I know what he means. Until that day. When I was driving by myself that it suddenly hit me.

I recalled another conversation I had with another friend who said this to me ...
"You are still you. There is no need to be sad or angry. If there is nothing left ... then at least you still have yourself. Who you are is not going to change. Your value is not going to be diminished. You are still you."

I think it was then ... that I finally understood what both of them meant. It is so hard when I am caught up in my own anguish and anger. Yet ... if I stand apart from myself and examine it ... I am still me. I think now, I begin to get an inkling of realization. And I think now, I understood the meaning of liberation.