HJ: Tough and challenging situations are just opportunities for growth and expansion in disguise.  Make the shift and watch your life transform before your eyes.

– Truth

How to Cope and Keep Going When Times Get Tough

By Josh Martin | Tiny Buddha | Badge of Awesome

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” ~Winston Churchill

The day started out beautifully. My friends Shaun, Tina, and I decided to take advantage of a sunny Saturday afternoon with a hike along Ontario’s Bruce Trail. We parked our cars at the trail access, laced up our boots, and headed out for a day of wandering through sun-dappled fields and forests.

By Lissa Rankin MD
Guest Writer for Wake Up World

When most of us think of the idea of the ego, we think of words like “egotistical” or “arrogant.” What most don’t understand is that the same ego that leads people to boast,  self-inflate, name drop, and preen around with self importance can manifest as just the opposite. When you wallow in self-doubt, act like you’re not good enough to belong, self-flagellate, or otherwise diminish yourself, that’s not humility. It’s more ego.

So what do I mean by ego?  I’m not talking about the Freudian definition that breaks your psyche into the id, ego, and superego. I’m also not talking solely about the part of you that tries to make you superior to others. I’m talking about the part of you that thinks it is separate from Oneness/The Universe/All That Is. This illusion of separateness may lead you to believe that you’re distinct and not connected, and because of this illusion, your ego will try to make everything and everyone either “better than” or “worse than” you.

In what could hardly be called a surprise, the UN Human Rights Council chastised the US over its epidemic of police violence, discrimination, needless killings, and general neglect, following through with recommendations made in its first review in 2010.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) takes place every four years to scrutinize the human and civil rights practices of each of the UN’s 193 member nations. Delegates from 117 countries took the opportunity to lambaste the US’ record of civil rights violations exacted by its brutal and racist police forces.