Wisdom in Summary:
Many continue to harbor a belief that life is hard, difficult, a struggle. Others have awakened to the realization that life can simply be exciting challenges. I ask the reader: “Where do you fall into this spectrum of perceptions of your life and your reality?”
Deeper Dive :
There is a long-standing belief that life is hard. This dates back for centuries when life was one hardship after another. We toiled as peasants, scraped together an existence, and suffered all the while. “Life is hard!” was engrained into our definition of life itself. It was expected that we would suffer. And suffering somehow became a badge of honor. Over and over, experiences reinforced these related beliefs. And they were imprinted upon us from early childhood.
Victim Consciousness
We could go down the path of blaming certain theologies, certain classes of humans, and/or certain thought-controlling mechanisms set in place. However, to do so is to be victim. And to play victim is to accept the suffering that goes with it. I recommend stepping well beyond the victim consciousness because it tends to lock a person in place.
Defensiveness
When we challenge the belief that ‘Life is Hard’, what is the immediate reaction? Agreement or defensiveness. To look at the belief that ‘Life is hard’, one can easily take a defensive stance, especially if we are not ready to perceive life differently. This defensive stance surfaces in one of two formats:
- We defend the belief based on all life’s experiences. In this case, we are viewing all of our experiences through the lens of “life is hard” and therefore, it is.
- Or we defend ourselves as inadvertent participants in other people’s games. In this second defensive stance, we are actually sliding back into victim consciousness: “It’s not my fault”, “I’m a victim of circumstance”, “they did this to me”
Either defensive format is still just that – a defense. A trait of the Downfall World. It is simply a defensive stance protecting how we currently live, allowing us to continue our suffering, and delaying our seeking a different perspective on life. Basically, both of these defensive stances keep us small, the same, and squarely in the ‘Epoch of Suffering’. Fortunately, we have a choice.
New Perspective — Exciting Challenges
Life itself is not hard.
Suffering is optional.
Life itself need not be a constant struggle, a constant uphill battle.
Life itself can move along very smoothly.
I hear :
“but won’t life be boring then?”
I say emphatically:
“NO!!”
Life need not be a challenge. What you choose to do in life is the exciting challenge.
The challenge is in the choices; what to study, what adventures to embrace, what talents to explore, what unknown avenues you choose to traverse.
These are the exciting challenges in life.
These are life’s challenges, not life itself.
Conclusion:
I challenge the reader to stop a moment and think of what transpired yesterday or last week.
Are you writing this story from a perspective of hardship?
Or are you writing this story from a perspective of exciting challenges.
Please leave a comment or share an experience you have had. We all learn from each other. And, to receive notification of future posts, consider Registering with the ‘subscribe’ box to the right.
Aho,
With loving intentions, Lila