There are a few misconceptions about life that I think are common. One is this: If I am a good person, kind and giving…then my life will be less rocky, less tragic, more even. And this: If I just think positively, look for the good, always see the silver lining…well then, I have made it. I am transformed. I am an evolved spiritual being.
These don’t always work for me. No matter how good of a person I am or how often I practice seeing the good, there are moments in my life that just suck. They are hard and painful. I feel discouraged, overwhelmed and defeated. I opine, “But, I’m a good person” (say it in a whiny voice). I ditch my rose colored glasses. Just-not-working.
So, what now? I like the Zen outlook. It goes something like this…from Steve Krieger.
“You deal with your shit in Zen by sitting with it. By breathing right into it. You don’t try and ignore it with pleasant thoughts or lofty ideas, and you don’t try and bury it with solutions. You deal with it, you work with it, one breath at a time. You hold it right there, in your breath. You don’t try and breathe it out; you don’t try and breathe it in. You keep it suspended in your diaphragm like a burning hot coin. Your problems won’t change; only you can change. That’s the point.”
How about that, Paula?
Listen…it doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for help. It doesn’t mean everything is now okay just because you read this quote and it makes sense to you. It also doesn’t mean you have to fix it or pretend.
Dealing with life means living and working with it ONE BREATH AT A TIME. You know what? I can do that. Just about with anything. I can breathe it…one breath at a time.
Deep breath,
Paula
