There is no denying that life can be difficult.
The trap of negative thinking can sneak up on us and catch us unaware
as it builds walls every bit as real as those constructed of concrete
and steel. I remember all too well some of the walls I have built
in years past: “This is so hard.” “Life isn’t
fair.” “You no sooner make a little progress and something
comes along and knocks you back down!” “Will I ever get
to the point where I’m really well again? Happy again?”
You know the song. You know the verses. We all do.
Illness, loneliness, unhappy relationships, stressful work situations
can all entrap us. So can widowhood, if you let it. What we haven’t
yet realized that it is always our thinking that makes it so, and
that we can do something about. So much of the time we do this to
ourselves without even knowing it. We verbally shoot ourselves in
the foot and then wonder why we suffer. Every thought we entertain
represents an attitude, a belief, a thought orientation that becomes
a self-fulfilling prophecy! Whether we know it or not, even whether
we like it or not, the nature of our thoughts does determine the nature
of our experience.
Deepak Chopra tells us, “Our goal in life is to shape existence
itself.” I’d like to add the word “consciously”
to that statement, because we do this all the time. We just aren’t
aware of it. Chopra says our pain begins within us. If that is so,
then so does our joy! Knowing this can be very freeing, once we understand
the difference we can make in our own life. We do not have to be victims.
Yes, we all make mistakes, but mistakes are intended to be our teachers.
If we can learn the lessons they offer, even our mistakes will prove
to be a blessing.
Seeds are planted in darkness. It is there they sprout and reach for
the light. So with us. Even the darkness, even our unknowing, is a
nurturing force in us, encouraging us to grow, to reach for something
higher. Isn’t that where we all want to be? Don’t we all
want a better way of life? If it was darkness, if it was unsureness,
that got our attention, that put us back on track, then surely we
have been blessed by it. Darkness is the matrix of creation. Therein
lies our hope.
When our days seem complicated, it helps if we can simplify our life.
Simplicity frees us from the bondage of constantly “needing”
what cannot satisfy. Strange as it may seem, less is always more!
More space. More freedom. More room to find and be our authentic self.
Once we are free of the burden of excess, simplicity gives us the
space in which we can discover where we really want to be, what we
really want to do. When we are quiet, there is room to pause and reflect.
To go within. To just simply be.
So often, when we seek to define ourself by what we do rather than
by what we are, we lose sight of who we really are and why we have
come here. That is why simplicity is so important. When we aren’t
on overload, we notice the simple joys. We find beauty in small things
and unexpected places.
Kathleen Norris suggests putting our values and principles first and
letting our work fit in around those priorities. (1) A good suggestion,
but were we to try it, would we even know how to begin? The difficulty
we encounter when contemplating such a move indicates the degree to
which we are controlled by our work, our schedule, our habitual way
of moving through our days, but life has a way of waking us up. Sometimes
it takes a crisis before we take notice. Crisis puts on the brakes
and forces us to look at what life is really all about. It forces
us to plumb our spiritual depths, to look for what rings true in our
most inward parts.
Change can shake us up and force us to move into new behaviors and
new responses. We find ourself doing things differently. New horizons
arise before us. Crisis picks us up and puts us down in a different
place. Oftentimes it closes one chapter and opens another.
Even priorities can change. What we thought was important before may
not seem to matter now at all. It’s a balancing process really,
weighing this against that as we constantly seek a deeper truth.
Life is an adventure. We all are explorers on the sea of life as we
seek meaning and purpose for our life. Finding that purpose can take
us to the deepest levels of our being where we can learn what we have
always wanted to know.
Ultimately, each of us is destined to take this inner journey as we
seek the meaning of life. When we finally do turn within, there is
little doubt that what we will find in the depths of our being will
be every bit as amazing as the mysteries we are discovering in the
farthest reaches of outer space.
(1) The Cloister Walk. Riverhead Books 1996