Adversities

  When facing adversities, it's always helpful to ask certain questions. Firstly, do we know the whole picture? Sometimes, we might be worried about a few isolated factors, and not have a clear picture of what is happening, so we find ourselves trying to piece together the whole from the isolated pieces we know. So, we might be filling in things that aren't part of the full picture.

   Second, is what we are experiencing permanent? Usually not! Surprisingly, what seems like a "forever" thing turns out to be something that has different phases. A pain in the body may feel bad on a certain day, but it ebbs and the body later finds ways to adapt to the situation. So, we can pay attention to whether the experience is fixed in one place, or if it might have different unfolding phases.

    Third, is the adversity something I can change? Or, conversely, is there something I can do to better relate to adversity? Perhaps we can see adversity as exciting, as a challenge to be overcome, or as a learning process. In these cases, I don't make the dire conclusion that the adversity is "all bad", a "catastrophe" or "doom". I leave open a space in the heart where I can connect more spaciously with it, taking a more logical and reasonable approach to it rather than simply wanting it to go away.

     So, to reiterate, adversity might involve asking ourselves whether we know all the full picture, whether we are seeing something fixed/eternal, and whether there are things I can do to allow the situation to sit better with me.