Life has a funny way of nudging us into getting off our butt and working towards achieving our truest potential.
I always say that it is as though God himself comes knocking at our door as he tries to wake us up from our dream-state. Ignore his knocking and he will begin to knock on the windows. Tirelessly he attempts to get the message across, that it is high time for us to get up, dust the pizza crumbs off our shirt, and go out to face the unknown.
Continue to ignore his knocking, we will soon face with his wrath where he will come crashing through the roof, burying us underneath, leaving us no choice but to make the inevitable change.
But thanks to our stubbornness, we now have to do it by first crawling out of the rubbles, with bruises and cuts on our bodies. Ooh and not to mention, a terribly wounded ego!
The loving yet stern universe who wants nothing more than for us to grow
The universe is that way. It continues to provide the opportunities for growth. Ignore them and soon these opportunities will turn into warnings. We all have seen them - the little (and sometimes not so little) signs.
Other times we feel them, there's a certain nagging feeling in our stomach. No not cute like butterflies. More like nasty spiders - crawling inside of us, their spikey legs subtly gnawing at our conscience.
Ignore the signs and the feelings long enough, the universe may just get a little tired of waiting and issues its final warnings.
So here we are, underneath this pile of mess, mess we have created, and now we have a decision to make.
We can be the victims
Of course we can choose to stay here, under this heavy weight of the rubble. Bitching and crying about how life i.e. our parents, education, our spouse, the government, our boss, our ancestors and all of their karma etc. has been unfair to us, while waiting for them to come and make things right by picking up the concrete slabs, one by one and moving us into newly built hilltop mansion.
Yup there's a lot to be unhappy about.
Why weren't I born with a silver spoon in my mouth?
It's my parents fault for not sending me to a better school!
My wife just doesn't understand me.
My husband just doesn't understand me.
My boss just won't acknowledge my hard work and dedication. I deserve a raise!
The government just screwed me over (and over).
My life is this way because of a long line of generational karma. There's nothing I can do about it.
But mom!!!
Seriously. Have we even listened to ourselves whinging? Will we ever learn that regardless of who or what put us in the hell hole that seems to be our forever home, it is up to us to get us out? And the sooner we do it, the better?
Because the blame game doesn't get anyone anywhere. It is avoidance. It excuses us from taking responsibility and accountability for the things that happen in our lives.
While we are busy blaming, or looking for a scapegoat to blame, we are delaying our growth. No change can take place while we are pointing fingers and wallowing in self pity. Only more misery.
Or we can choose to change
(ok back to being under the rubbles after God had crashed the roof)
Certainly staying under the heavy concrete slabs isn't much fun. Especially when there's no guarantee that anyone will come to our rescue.
So most (sane) people will finally make up their mind to make the necessary changes. Funnily, most of them already knew deep inside their gut, that this tragic day would come.
"Most people wait for disease, trauma, crisis, loss or some tragedy to make up their mind to change." - Dr Joe Dispenza
But is it really tragic?
It is tragic only if 1) death (especially yours) is involved; 2) you perceive it as being tragic and see no silver lining that can be attained through the experience.
Trust me, there's always a silver lining. If you can't see one, look harder. And if you still can't see any, (since the future is not set in stone), it is now up to you to make one.
The unknown is a scary place
More often than not, it is not that we are too comfortable to change or too afraid. What we are really afraid of is the unknown.
The unknown is scary, it is uncomfortable. It inevitably requires us to face the unknown side of our personality.
But in the unknown lies your greatest undiscovered potentials. It is in the unknown the rest of you resides. And it is in these discoveries and integration of these parts of your selves, that make you whole.
In this dualistic universe, we can't escape the polarities. We are both light and dark, and all shades of grey in between.
Confronting the unknown and getting uncomfortable means we are coming face to face with the part of us we have never met. The part that has been given many names - inner demon, the dark twin, the shadow self, the alter ego among others. But those who dare venture into the unknown often come out on the other side stronger and more resilient.
Why did you think Gandalf was so terrified of Balrog when he had not shown the same level of fear towards anything else? And why did Gandalf face Balrog alone when there were other heroes in his party? Hint: Balrog was Gandalf's personal demon, his other side that he knew he had to finally face - alone. And why did Gandalf turn from The Grey (and somewhat bent and battered) to The White after having defeated the ancient demon?
Because you see, it is within our fear that we discover courage, within our boredom and complacency that we find creativity, within our inertia that we find passion and ambition.
It is within our anger that we learn compassion, within our darkest hour that we discover our strength and within our hatred that we learn the meaning of true love.
Embracing change and the discomfort is never easy. But as I've said, life has a funny way of making you get up and make the necessary changes for your own good. You'll not want to sit around for it to happen.
As Dr. Dispenza always says, "You can learn and change in state of pain and suffering, or you can learn and change in a state of joy and inspiration!"
Thank you for reading. Much love.
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