Facing Life's Challenges

Let's face it, life can be challenging.  I can be humming along, things going great, and out of no where.....K-A-P-O-W!  Something or someone blindsides me and now I'm left struggling to keep my head above water.  My mind begins to chime in and I am on an endless cycle in my head. Typically, I look at how I am right and the other person is wrong. I invalidate them and justify myself, thoughts and actions.  My mind just keeps going.....and going.....and going.  

It's these times I find myself floating from one experience to the next not in my center and coming from what I call "default drive". My default drive is not the highest aspect of myself, in fact, it's the lower part of me running the show. Yikes!  I suppose, I should be happy that I am aware that I am off my path, but what do I do now?  How do I get back on track?

1. First thing is I notice where I am - Being aware of where I am creates the space for me to move out of that place.  If I am unaware that I am off track, how can I find my way?  Bringing my awareness to "what is" can be the first step in moving forward.

2. Accept where I am - Accepting what's going on inside can sometimes be tricky.  I have to remind myself that until I accept "what is" I'm never going to be in the space to move.  So accepting my reality is key.

3. Inquire within - I have been told the only difference between a supremely enlightened Buddha and everyone else is the ability to inquire within.  I must admit, I struggle with asking the right questions, if there are any right questions.  So I basically stick to my usual: what is my next highest step? What am I getting out of this? How can I use this to my advantage? What is the usefulness of this in my life?

This is too cute not to post.

4. Having compassion with myself - here's one that is a constant struggle.  I have this incredibly high standard from which I judge myself.  By judging myself I am not in the space to be compassionate with myself and there for I am stuck.   Having the awareness that we all make mistakes, we all say and do things we wish we hadn't and the only thing to do from here is put in the correction. Which leads me to my next point.

5.  Put in the correction with myself and possible another - What I mean by that is let's say I said or did something that I became aware of that wasn't my highest choice.  I have an incredible opportunity to go to that person and say something like "I screwed up and I want to fix my actions or words that I said." Possibly I will say I'm sorry but look to how I can correct a previous error and move forward.  Now, sometimes that might mean the end of a relationship, that's part of this process.  Hopefully it won't but at least you took ownership of your actions and words and was willing to put in a change.  

And finally, I pray and thank God for my life, my family, my friends and all the experiences that I have. Sometimes that's a stretch and I really have to dig deep for my gratitude.  But we can always find something no matter how dire our life or circumstance is to be grateful for.

With Love,
All-is-one