We all must look at our lives and tell ourselves the truth about it. Never mind what others say, ask yourself, why have I compromised my spirit to such miserable people? Take a good hard, shocking look at your inner location. “Come out from among them,” is a powerful invitation to have one’s own life. There must be an inner movement away from a cluttered mind. Once we see that we have convinced ourselves this is the best we can do, this is the first crack at breaking free.

There is a way available from leaving that cluttered mind and having it replaced with a clear mind. It is not easy, but question yourself, Is my life easy now? Look at how hard you work to convince yourself that it is not that bad. It is that bad, and until you have a heart-to-heart talk with yourself, nothing will change. Your life will get harder and harder.

The real bright news is there is a brighter way to live. There is a cost. Your payment is exchanging your miserable life for a peaceful life. You are madly in love with your misery. Being able to hear some unpleasant facts about your present life is a must. There are thousands of truths to help you walk away from your present ideas of yourself. All your friends will disapprove of your escape, for you are leaving them for a better existence and they are still pretending they are not miserable. Do the right thing for yourself.

I found this in Vernon Howard’s “Pathways to Perfect Living;” HOW TO STOP PLAYING THE PAINFUL GAME OF LIVING; Of course the game is painful. You know that much. But you may not know how to stop. It is as if you are playing a rousing game of tennis with someone who is important in your life, when you grow tired ansd wish to stop. But your opponent continues to hit the ball, forcing you to continue. Because you don’t want him to be disappointed with you, you wearily go on with the game.
To stop, you must risk his displeasure; you must make it clear that you no longer wish to play.

Soon, you will have new friends who also had to walk away from their personal misery. These are your true friends. They will be so much more valuable to you. You will discover you harbor layer after layer of useless trash you are carrying around and see it is totally unnecessary. You will stumble into becoming a happy person and wonder why it took you so long to realize the obvious. Start your climb up the spiritual mountain, and one day you will discover there is no top to this mountain. The Kingdom is within.

Another Vernon Quote: “Spiritual knowledge, followed by self surrender develops what is real within.”