This article would probably apply to each and every person. Or at least, each and every person which has been in a situation before which felt like it was out of their comfort zone. A scenario which, at that specific point, was not really what we wanted or wished for.
Let's be honest, life throws us these curveballs. We hope for something like this, but in the end, we get something like that.
For example, we may end up having a job that we do not like, we may end up in a relationship that we do not like. Or, we may lose a job that we loved or experience a break-up from a relationship we cherished. Whatever the case may be, we have all been in a position that was out of our comfort zone.
Let's think of a time when we experienced a situation that brought us unhappiness or discomfort. Maybe something that required our participation, but it was against our will. At that specific point, we may feel that if we could really choose, we wouldn't want to be in this situation, but we simply have no choice, as if things are beyond our control.
Let's be honest, life throws us these curveballs. We hope for something like this, but in the end, we get something like that.
For example, we may end up having a job that we do not like, we may end up in a relationship that we do not like. Or, we may lose a job that we loved or experience a break-up from a relationship we cherished. Whatever the case may be, we have all been in a position that was out of our comfort zone.
Let's think of a time when we experienced a situation that brought us unhappiness or discomfort. Maybe something that required our participation, but it was against our will. At that specific point, we may feel that if we could really choose, we wouldn't want to be in this situation, but we simply have no choice, as if things are beyond our control.
Not as we imagined
When we consciously enter the path of the heart, yearning for inner peace and harmony, or the presence of God in our lives, things start to change... As we start to shatter the illusions of the ego and start to awaken to our Oneness, opening our hearts to Universal Love and peace, we may notice that the path does appear to be as Shanti Shanti as we may have imagined it.It is not merely a combination of burning incense, meditating, chanting mantras, wearing a mala, greeting everyone with a peaceful Namaste, and maybe even white doves flying out from behind us, ha!
If we truly want to open our hearts, let go of the ego, and experience Oneness with our Universe, what better opportunities can we ask for to develop and grow? Whenever there is a little bit of friction, a little bit of aversion towards a situation, it is our Universe showing us an area within ourselves that we need to pay attention to.
It is actually so beautiful.
Instead of seeing these situations as curses, seeing them as the devil messing with us, or the Universe punishing us for something we did wrong, we should actually see them as blessings, because that is what they truly are. Blessings in disguise.
Firstly, these situations are served to us by grace, by amazing grace. And secondly, they are served to us by Love. By deep, Universal Love. It comes straight from our Divine Mother, as an invitation to come back into Her arms.
As soon as we start to realize what these 'hard times' actually are, we can start to change our perceptions about them. Instead of wishing them away, we are hugely thankful for them, we express so much gratitude for what is happening because we understand the purpose of the situation.
Naturally, when we see and understand the purpose of the situation, we stop fighting against it, we stop trying to manipulate or avoid it, and we surrender to it. Upon surrendering, we can clearly see what we have to learn, we see it as a great teaching, and we get taught accordingly. Teaching us to let go, to surrender to The Universe, to detach from the ego-mind, and to open our hearts towards love and peace.
On the contrary.
We notice that the path gets challenging, things start to happen which we do not like, situations we feel that we do not want or need.
See, when we work on dissolving the ego in order to re-awaken to our Oneness, things start to transform. As we strive towards creating, or rather re-discovering, inner peace and internal harmony, we shall realize that our external reality starts to change too. It is clear to see that the internal and the external are actually not two different things, they are the same.
As for the changes we make 'internally', we come to notice that life starts to bring challenging situations. We shall find ourselves in positions that we would never imagine asking for. Like we said, we may end up losing a job, finding a job that is physically or emotionally challenging, ending a relationship, a change in our health, the passing of a loved one. Whatever it may be.
Of course, our discriminating mind immediately labels these situations as 'problems' or 'bad'. However, when we look deeper, we realize that these 'problems' have been granted to us, in order to make us see where we still need to work on ourselves. These scenarios bring up emotions such as anger, envy, sadness, unhappiness, some kind of suffering. The purpose of these scenarios is that it allows us to identify areas within ourselves that need more development. Areas which we need to give more love, pay more attention to, or attachments of the ego-mind which we need to let go of.
As we know, the ego is extremely subtle and sneaky, it goes very deep, and what we generally label 'challenging situations' can actually help us to point out the ego. Almost like a tracking guide, like the bushmen tracking down an animal, but only in this case, it is a guide for tracking the ego, guiding us to see where the ego is still present!
We notice that the path gets challenging, things start to happen which we do not like, situations we feel that we do not want or need.
See, when we work on dissolving the ego in order to re-awaken to our Oneness, things start to transform. As we strive towards creating, or rather re-discovering, inner peace and internal harmony, we shall realize that our external reality starts to change too. It is clear to see that the internal and the external are actually not two different things, they are the same.
As for the changes we make 'internally', we come to notice that life starts to bring challenging situations. We shall find ourselves in positions that we would never imagine asking for. Like we said, we may end up losing a job, finding a job that is physically or emotionally challenging, ending a relationship, a change in our health, the passing of a loved one. Whatever it may be.
Of course, our discriminating mind immediately labels these situations as 'problems' or 'bad'. However, when we look deeper, we realize that these 'problems' have been granted to us, in order to make us see where we still need to work on ourselves. These scenarios bring up emotions such as anger, envy, sadness, unhappiness, some kind of suffering. The purpose of these scenarios is that it allows us to identify areas within ourselves that need more development. Areas which we need to give more love, pay more attention to, or attachments of the ego-mind which we need to let go of.
As we know, the ego is extremely subtle and sneaky, it goes very deep, and what we generally label 'challenging situations' can actually help us to point out the ego. Almost like a tracking guide, like the bushmen tracking down an animal, but only in this case, it is a guide for tracking the ego, guiding us to see where the ego is still present!
Love and grace
See, it is all about perception. When we check up, we realize that these scenarios or situations which we feel are out of our comfort zone, they are actually granted to us by our Higher Self, by God, by The Universe, our spirit guides, or whatever we want to label it.
If we truly want to open our hearts, let go of the ego, and experience Oneness with our Universe, what better opportunities can we ask for to develop and grow? Whenever there is a little bit of friction, a little bit of aversion towards a situation, it is our Universe showing us an area within ourselves that we need to pay attention to.
It is actually so beautiful.
Instead of seeing these situations as curses, seeing them as the devil messing with us, or the Universe punishing us for something we did wrong, we should actually see them as blessings, because that is what they truly are. Blessings in disguise.
Firstly, these situations are served to us by grace, by amazing grace. And secondly, they are served to us by Love. By deep, Universal Love. It comes straight from our Divine Mother, as an invitation to come back into Her arms.
Grace and Love.
As soon as we start to realize what these 'hard times' actually are, we can start to change our perceptions about them. Instead of wishing them away, we are hugely thankful for them, we express so much gratitude for what is happening because we understand the purpose of the situation.
Naturally, when we see and understand the purpose of the situation, we stop fighting against it, we stop trying to manipulate or avoid it, and we surrender to it. Upon surrendering, we can clearly see what we have to learn, we see it as a great teaching, and we get taught accordingly. Teaching us to let go, to surrender to The Universe, to detach from the ego-mind, and to open our hearts towards love and peace.
A lesson learned
As soon as we take on this attitude, we start to learn the lesson, and the situation slowly starts to dissolve by itself. Just like anything else, these so-called 'challenging' situations are also bound to impermanence. They come and go as we need them, and we should use them skilfully, never forgetting that they are precious wish-fulfilling jewels.
It is like someone opening the door for us to come home, and all we have to do is step inside. So precious, so fortunate we are to have these experiences.
So, the next time we find ourselves in a space where we feel some aversion, a space where we experience internal friction, where anger, jealousy, or fear comes up, let's check up! Let's investigate what it really is, and we can participate with gratitude and peace, instead of the anger and aversion that we are used to.
Nothing happens by mere chance, by coincidence.
Life is beautiful and full of blessings in disguise.
It is all about perception.
It is like someone opening the door for us to come home, and all we have to do is step inside. So precious, so fortunate we are to have these experiences.
So, the next time we find ourselves in a space where we feel some aversion, a space where we experience internal friction, where anger, jealousy, or fear comes up, let's check up! Let's investigate what it really is, and we can participate with gratitude and peace, instead of the anger and aversion that we are used to.
Nothing happens by mere chance, by coincidence.
Life is beautiful and full of blessings in disguise.
It is all about perception.
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| "...we may notice that the path does appear to be as Shanti Shanti as we may have imagined it." |
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Expressing gratitude - 11 April, 2020
Very well written. I like the part about surrendering to the lesson or situation .
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading, and thank you so much for the kind comment!
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