Cleverness divides, intelligence includes.

I like this quote - the one up there, in my subject line. See it? Yup. Think about it. It's from the Eckhart Tolle book I told y'all I was reading. Here's the whole paragraph - just a smidgen of the book - trust me - it's helping me!

"Whenever you are in a negative state, there is something in you that wants the negativity, that perceives it as pleasureable, or that believes it will get you what you want. Otherwise, who would want to hang on to negativity, make themselves and others miserable, and create disease in the body? So, whenever there is negativity in you, if you can be aware at that moment that there is something in you that takes pleasure in it or believes it has a useful purpose, you are becoming aware of the ego directly. The moment this happens, your identity has shifted from ego to awareness. This means the ego is shrinking and awareness is growing.

If in the midst of negativity you are able to realize 'At this moment I am creating suffering for myself' it will be enough to raise you above the limitations of conditioned egoic states and reactions. It will open up infinite possibilities which come to you when there is awareness-other vastly more intelligent ways of dealing with any situation. You will be free to let go of your unhappiness the moment you recognize it as unintelligent. Negativity is not intelligent. It is always of the ego. The ego may be clever, but it is not intelligent. Cleverness pursues its own little aims. Intelligence sees the larger whole in which all things are connected. Cleverness is motivated by self-interest, and it is extremely short-sighted. Most politicians and businesspeople are clever. Very few are intelligent. Whatever is attained through cleverness is short-lived and always turns out to be eventually self-defeating. Cleverness divides; intelligence includes."

Think about that - let it digest. So true, right? Who WANTS to be unhappy? Who WANTS to be negative? No one...and if you do, are you a masochist? Think about the people in your life who are always negative or saying, "Oh this will never work out for me...." and then they attach a because with a silly reason.

I'll admit it. I have these moments and for a long time used to be this negative. I've been working on it for the last 10 years. I think I've gotten better at it but after re-reading this portion of the book I'm like, man...this makes so much sense. Why do I want to be negative? Am I really finding pleasure out of it? No. I'm not. I wasn't. I won't. Onward and upward :-)