A couple of months back I checked into a local Transcendental Meditation retreat center for a quick “check-in.” I wanted to have my teacher walk me through a full 20-minute session and reinforce the principles while realigning me to the core ideas of TM, one of which is to not force it, but embrace whatever comes your way.
That struck a bell! Truly meditation and our lives have a lot in common. We’re always trying to control every little aspect of our lives hoping that will help us be more fulfilled. Likewise, in meditation, we try to control our thoughts hoping that a clear mind is a key to… ahem, enlightenment (seriously?).
While I think “fulfillment” and enlightenment are great concepts, I am not sure if they’re worth an all-out pursuit. Unless your career ambition is to become a monk of the first order.
I think our lives are riddled with simple choices. We just need to step back and choose what will take us a step further in our journey. And of course, that means embracing change. Both you and I know, we suck at that greatly!
We would so much happier if we just accept one universal truth — we can only change the things we can control. And for most of us, that’s almost nothing but how we think and react to a given situation.
Accepting the worst despite your best efforts/preparation/intent is what I call taking responsibility. And being real. (Yeah, I know… a little stoic.) Knowing that things will be hard will prime your mental faculties to take on anything that life throws at you.
So, the reason I may be suffering right now is due to my inability to handle the situation.
How about you? Do you force it or embrace whatever comes your way?