Sunday, 9 December 2012

Adaptability- the Real skill of Survival and success


I wanted to share what came up for me after having listened to this discussion with Eckhart Tolle. (1 hr)

With all that has been going on in the world, the one thing that is persistent and in the forefront is the sense of uncertainty of what is to come.

As humans, we have gone from being Nomads to being farmers, and then we seem to have planted ourselves and grown roots deep in the illusion of control of our surroundings and having things very predictably safe and problem free.  The comfort of knowing what we can expect has done us more harm than good. We have stopped really living and have gone into Automatic pilot.

The strength and power is NOT in the assets accumulated,  the safety guards put in place, the back up plans, the people that answer to you, or being in control of all.  The illusion of this situation is the egotistical belief that the universe will always bend and mould itself to your needs and whims.  That is capricious and selfish and obtuse. You close yourself off to the real opportunities and possibilities that life has to offer.  Sometimes the best things in life are things we never knew or conceived of.  So to try and hold control over everything is limiting everything in your life.

The REAL strength and power is in the ability to be adaptable in any situation. 
Resistance to what is currently happening is not being open to the possibilities surrounding the challenge- because you are stuck with the idea it should be a certain way.  When you realize that the current situation is a challenge

“Life is difficult.  Once you know it is difficult, it is no longer difficult.”( Excerpt from “The Road Less Travelled” by Scott M Peck)  The paradox is in accepting that there are going to be challenges to face and in being aware that challenges will come- you are ready mentally and in emotionally, to face whatever comes.
Having the belief that life should be easy, is simply not being in a frame of mind to deal with anything else but what you want to deal with.  Since life is about change and growth, you are simply going to make things infinitely more difficult for yourself.

The distinction between ‘your life’ and ‘your life situation’ is super important.
The LIFE you are, is the essence of who you are, the presence or awareness that is playing this game called ‘life situation or Life path’.  The ’student’ if you will.
The ‘Life situation’ is the experience or set of events or obstacle course that the ‘Life’ or ‘awareness’ is experiencing.  It is like the course or lesson you have chosen to study by the choices you have made in life. Each choice you make opens specific life paths/ doors or options in line with what your choices are. The life path is usually chosen in the moment to moment decisions. Each lesson gives us tools and skills to adapt to the situation. Are you finding and using those tools or skills?

That being said, be aware that the situation you find yourself in, is in direct correlation to the choices you have made, and as a result create the specific set of challenges  which are going to help you grow and learn, and define yourself or being in a new and better way.

So to resist or go against the challenges you have indirectly set up in your life based on your very choices, is to go against yourself, create unrest, dissatisfaction, anger, frustration, and  misery.
What you resist, will persist. Be aware of that. See if it has not been so in your life.

In fact, I have a friend, who suffers from Lupus, and she has been working on growing herself in every aspect of her life.  She admitted to us that she used to have such a hard time with her disease, until she accepted the fact that she has a disease- the disease does not have her.  This is when the disease became  manageable and she was able to do so much more with her life,She  admits that sometimes she gets frustrated when it flares at the worst times, however when she accepts the situation- and gives her body the rest it needs, her recovery is much faster. 

The challenge is to accept that what is in front of you , “IS what it is” and is the challenge you must deal with, and  accept it and choose how you want to deal with it.
When you do this, you are able to look at the situation from difference angles and then are able to see the best way to approach the situation.  When you don't accept the situation, you refuse to see what is there and blind yourself to any possibility.
So I challenge everyone to try this for a day- or for a week.  Let’s see what we become aware of, and if it makes a difference in your life, or state of being or calmness... Let me know what comes up for you.
I definitely recommend watching the video.

Here is to the transformation of being all we can be!

~ Q

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