Entry 116 - Lesson on Challenges

Challenges come in many forms and in many packages. Some big, some small, some which you have no solution for, others you find one right away. However, when you can stop a challenge from becoming a problem in your mind, then you can stay practical, stay present, and find a solution faster than if you allow the problem to keep you in a miserable state of unease. 

The greater part of the challenge is what your mind is doing and saying about your life at that moment, not the actual challenge itself. It's inevitable to have waves of challenges come our way, but what makes the difference between a state of misery or a state of bliss is how we handle these challenges when they come, and how we let them go once we move on. 

The ego of each person clings to whatever negativity it can find. Once it clings to the bad, you then keep thinking so much about the bad that you must complain about it to someone, or else you feel as if you'll go mad if you don't. The ego keeps you in this cycle of negativity and distracts you from being present and from finding a solution. This is how the ego stays alive, how it continues to thrive and to bring you into a deeper state of misery and turmoil.

However, one does not have to take this route when a challenge arises. One can find a solution to the very challenge itself if one is willing to. When I refer to a solution, I do not mean merely outward. To each solution, there is an inward shift that should happen, and then if there is a way to shift your current circumstances outwardly, then you can apply a practical solution outside of you. The inward shift is when you quite literally become the solution to your problem. 

Your awareness, your presence, your deep realization that life is more than just the current challenge is the first step in releasing yourself from it. Secondly, having this inward shift and peaceful state of mind allows you to better find solutions for the challenge, or if there is none, to surrender and to be content with the present moment.

Maybe you had a wonderful time in Hawaii with the family, but then all of a sudden your flight got cancelled. The problem might be that you not only have class the next day, but you have an exam that morning, however, you are stuck in Hawaii for another twenty hours. 

Your sister is crying, the baby is screaming, Mom is arguing with the receptionist at the desk, your dad is playing Mario Kart on his Google Pixel 2, and then there's you. Sitting there, about to decide which road you will take: The road of misery or the road of peace, but you must act fast because the time is ticking.

Crying, shaking, complaining, stirring up and identifying with the negative emotions won't help your situation. If anything, it'll just make you feel even more of the misery from the challenge that you are facing. Why not have a different relationship with the challenge? What if instead of amplifying the challenge, you help yourself transform through it? 

Your solution can be two-fold. You must find it within yourself to surrender to the present moment and accept your situation for what it is. Do not allow yourself to identify with any negativity, but rather, be the awareness behind the negativity. Let the negative pass through you. Then start to think of any possible solutions to the problem. 

Maybe all you can do is send emails to your professors that you will not be able to make it to your class because your flight was cancelled. Then, if there is nothing else you can do, accept that what you did was all that you could do. When you surrender to the present moment and either try to find solutions or be content with the fact there is nothing more you can do outside of you, you allow yourself to grow from that challenge and reach an elevated level of awareness in the present moment.

It wasn't your fault that the plane flight was cancelled, but you took responsibility for how you responded to that unexpected challenge, and you took steps that eventually freed yourself from any form of misery. Congrats, what you experienced was a state of bliss in the midst of a storm. You should be very happy with yourself. It isn't necessarily an easy thing to do, but the more awareness you bring into your life, the more you can make this type of response habitual and become your default. 

You won't want to put yourself through misery anymore. It won't be worth the pain and turmoil. Instead, you look forward to life's challenges, knowing that you are properly equipped for the next challenge, and it will allow you to reach a higher level of awareness.