It Occurred to Me: A Guide to a Happy Self

By Carol Swarbrick Dries

IT OCCURRED TO ME (A Guide to a Happy Self) is an easy read and an easy guide to alter your attitudes about your place in this world. The point is made in different (sometimes amusing, sometimes touching, and sometimes tough) ways that we all have a place in this universe and we are at that right place - right now. Through the journey of these essays, you can find simple solutions to everyday misconceptions and challenges.

We all have had some flawed concepts presented to us about ourselves and about our impact on others. Heres a sort of Treasure Map out of depression and self-doubt. The author shares some very personal stories about how her map got smeared, folded and mutilated, and then, how she has been able to straighten out the wrinkles and decipher her path. The next step or turn is continually revealed, so long as one is ready and willing to take it.

The thoughts and ideas expressed in these essays can help anyone out of their self-esteem deficit. Because they are simply stated, they are profound in their universal benefits. Try to look for similarities in your own heart, in your own experiences. Have you felt the same way the author has felt about these issues? Can you see a way out? Keep reading and thinking and feeling. Open your mind to change.

At the conclusion of the book, there is a Certificate of Sufficiency (suitable for framing!) Write your name on it and keep it where you can see it. You are ENOUGH, right where you are just because you are.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 8, 2002
• ISBN: 9781469115733

Carol Swarbrick Dries

The author, as Carol Swarbrick, has worked as an actress for 30+ years and has been on the Council of Actors' Equity Association (The Professional Stage Actors' Union) for 10+ years. Her performing resume includes 4 Broadway shows, appearances on many television series and feature films. In August of 2001, Carol married James H. Dries, for whom this book is dedicated. The author asserts that this marriage would not have been possible without the growth and experiences about which she has written in this book. There is no secret - but there is plenty of magic - to be found herein. Ms. Swarbrick Dries claims that if she can do it, so can you!

Book preview

Copyright © 2002 by Carol Swarbrick Dries.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval

system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation 1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

CONTENTS

A HAPPY SELF

EGO IN THE SKIN

THE ART OF

RECEIVING

RELATIONSHIPS

ONION SKINS

AUTUMN LEAVES

COLUMBIA

TRIUMPHANT

CATERPILLAR-

COCOON-

BUTTERFLY

THE G WORD

ONE IN THE ONE

THE PRESENCE

DOORKNOBS

IT OCCURRED

TO NONE OF US

IAM PART OF THE GREAT MIND OF GOD

THE LORD’S PRAYER

INTO RECOVERY

THE FIRST THREE STEPS…

THE ROAD TO SANITY

MY SIDE OF THE STORY

Dedication

For My Husband, Jim;

A Miracle That Occurred To Me!

A HAPPY SELF

Image382.PNG

Imagine, if you will, the largest mural you have ever seen. Larger. This mural is so large you have to keep stepping away from it to get any perspective at all, and, even then, you cannot see all of it. It’s enormous! As you look more closely, you see that it is not an ordinary mural, it is made up of millions of pieces, different shapes and sizes-almost like a jigsaw puzzle-each piece fitting perfectly into the whole-which you still cannot see. As you come even closer to it, you see there is a gold plaque under the mural, a name-plate. It reads: Your Greatest Good. But all you can really see is the space right in front of you, TODAY, right now. Even the portion to your left, which is your past, can only be seen through your peripheral vision, your memory, and isn’t as clear as TODAY is. The space to your right, the future, is, as yet, open, blank.

Now, you notice there are other people here, too, each of them looking at their own mural/mosaics. And all around you, there are puzzle pieces, lying about, hanging from trees (did I mention there are trees here, too? Well, there are!), some of them just falling from the Heavens. Some are sparkling, shining, some are dusty and have been sitting untouched for a long time, some resemble others so closely that you cannot tell one from another, but there is a slightdifference. You pick up a piece and examine it, or you grab it and try to fit it into your mural. Some of them do fit, instantly, some of them have to be turned and reversed for them to fit, some of them have to be cleaned off in order to see their true shape and the right place for that piece in your mosaic. Some of them don’t fit at all. These pieces aren’t yours. They belong in someone else’s mural. Just because you were attracted to it, doesn’t mean it is right for you. Put those pieces down and try another. If one of your opportunities winds up in someone else’s hands, it can’t be lost to you. Sooner or later, but certainly eventually, it will not adhere to the other person’s mural, and it will come back to you. If it is yours, you will not go without it. Each person’s mural must be complete when they pass over, so you need never feel threatened that someone else is getting a piece that was meant for you. It doesn’t work that way. The design is perfect, and we aren’t done until the mural is.

When you step away from the mural/mirror now, you can see that the pieces that have made up this work of art are all of the experiences, opportunities and events of your life. All of your choices. What you also see is that if you picked up a piece that doesn’t fit, and crammed it, forced it into the picture where it doesn’t belong, then, when the right piece shows up, there is no place in your life for it. You’ve filled that space with something that doesn’t fill it BEST. It’s hard to see when we are standing so close to it, but it is there, nevertheless.

When I am puzzled about the outcome of a project, or nervous about an upcoming situation, I just have to remind myself that I don’t see the whole picture. There is One that does, and will make the right piece available to me at the right time. I don’t want the wrong piece, because that takes up space without offering me the BEST experience. Not all of my mural/mirror pieces can sparkle. If they did, I would be blinded by the reflection. I want to keep my eyes open to the pieces that fit. I want to keep building on this life-mural with MY BEST choices. Faith that there is One who sees the BIG PICTURE, lets me live, knowing that all I have to do is pick up as many pieces as I can, to see if they fit. The end product is not my business. I can’t see the whole thing anyway, so I let go of the results. Then, my hands are free to gather more experiences, opportunities and events.

Image391.PNG

So often, when misfortune rears its ugly head, people say, What goes around, comes around. Do we realize that GOOD things come around, too? They do, so long as we have sent them around. Of course it works both ways. It’s part of the LAW. Watch for it. You’ll see it. Just for a test, try a smile. What goes around comes