This is an interesting one to think about. Most people believe that the cause of their suffering is outside of themselves. The truth is that it is our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes that cause our suffering.
Yes hard and challenging things do happen to us but the suffering comes from how we respond or react.
Life is a tough school, there is no doubt about that, but we can choose to learn from what happens. When we don’t learn, we just end up repeating the same suffering over and over.
You learn from experiences when you accept that everything is a challenge and opportunity to grow and not a bummer, bad, wrong.
When we see things as problems we give them a negative charge and make them much harder.
When we struggle against what is happening we increase the pain in it.
Feelings take over.
It is a very different experience when we accept that everything is teaching us something that we need to learn.
The key is to accept what has happened and take a little space from it. Then think about it and write about it in terms of challenge and opportunity. Part of your mind will want to ridicule this idea but persist and stay with it. Think about why this is challenging for you. What is it you fear? What is it you want and what do you not want? Focus and get very clear.
Your feelings will want to get rattled but use your mind to keep clear and keep learning. Your mind is your most powerful tool. Feelings connect us and we need to listen to them but not to let them take over and be run by them. This is what happens for so many people and in so many situations.
When you see it as teaching you something you need to learn, then you can choose how to respond and you can think in terms of solutions and discovery.
Lessons and challenges teach us all kinds of things such as patience, unconditional love, forgiveness, personal power, non attachment, to stay centred, to choose love instead of fear, courage.
However, first and foremost, lessons are teaching us to realise that we are Divine and not just physical bodies and personalities going through life and making do. Life is a Spiritual path.
Photo thanks to John Rossiter
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