Ever read, “The Road Less Traveled”? Do you remember the first sentience in the book? … “Life is difficult.”
This may seem like a depressing way to begin a book. Thoughts of gloom and doom, questions like “What’s the point” come to mind! Here’s another perspective by Eckhart Tolle, he says once you accept the fact that life is difficult, it’s not really difficult anymore. It’s only when you think it shouldn’t be, that it makes it very hard. We are here, we are meant to be challenged by life and that is part of how consciousness evolves.
Tolle asks us to imagine a world where we could choose all of our own life circumstances. I want love, I want to have absolute financial security. I would like to have perfect health. I would like to have a wonderful and happy relationship with no conflict, children who are no problem. A good job, a fulfilling job… etc. But if you actually had that ideal life, he says, “it would not contribute to your awakening. It’s the very things that we don’t want that provide the motivation for becoming more conscious.”
Another way of looking at this, my teacher, Master Yogi Amrit Desai, says when you have an expectation, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration. Just think if you never had an expectation, you went about your day, living and creating from the moment, experiencing situations with no expectation of the outcome. How freeing would that be? Maybe just for one day try this approach. Simply go with the flow with no expectation of what should happen.
Whether you take Tolle’s approach or Master Yogi Amrit Desai’s — I truely believe, “In all things give thanks.” I remember when I had my accident back in 2004, I literally could not do anything without being in extreme pain. Very challenging, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. I remember one day, feeling sad and angry, then all of a sudden I started laughing! You see, I realize there were many mornings I would wake up and say to myself, “I wish I could stay in bed all day and do nothing.” … Well as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for – it may come true. Here I was staying in bed all day and doing nothing, yet I was sad and angry.
It was through this accident that I went through an incredible transformation. I stumbled upon Yoga, started studying yogic philosophy, the conflict I had experienced for years regarding religion and spirituality became clear to me. I then discovered the healing power of Qigong, which lead me to become certified starting my own business and teaching fulltime. All this from an accident that at the time was difficult. Yes, life can be difficult, but in all things give thanks!
