“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen
Why is it that as human beings we experience times of tremendous struggle? Why is it that we are often faced with overwhelming obstacles to the realization of our dreams? Why is it that so many challenging lessons appear on our journey? And, ultimately why must we fail over and over before we learn from mistakes? I suppose one way of looking at these questions is as follows: without the struggle there would be elation in triumph, without the obstacles there could be no need to think outside the box for creative and innovative solutions, without the lessons we would never have to face our fears to learn and evolve to a higher consciousness, and without the failures and mistakes along the way, we would not have the opportunities to get closer and closer to the ultimate discovery. With this perspective, I may get excited, however, the hardest part of dealing with struggle, obstacles, challenges, and failures in life is when it all happens at once. It all can become too much especially where I like to maintain control over what happens to me and around me. When I get inundated, it may feel like life is unraveling and it may be difficult to regain any footing. When faced with too much hardship at once, whether it be any type of loss in your life, health related stress, work related stress, family related stress, loneliness- you name it, I often feel like if I add one more thing to my plate, I will just crack. But, I have found that right at that moment when I accept and just break open, that is when the light comes back into my life. Because that is where we are challenged to openly accept our flaws, at that breaking point our need to survive overtakes our need to be perfect. Then, we can stand in acceptance at what our lives have delivered to us. All of it, the struggle, obstacle, challenges, and failures, can then be seen as opportunities to learn and progress. Is it possible we can become more amazing because of the bumps along the way? Yes Yes Yes, it is!!!! And as we are going through it all on the path to discovering our amazing and perfectly flawed selves, to help maintain patience and to aid in minimizing worries or anxieties, I grab on to my tools. Focus on my breathing, keep the goal in mind, stop and input positive intentions into your field of thought, recite your uplifting mantra, learn to meditate and live your life as an ongoing prayer asking for divine inspiration when you need it most (because the universe will respond). And, finally embrace your cracks, embrace your flaws, and stand in gratitude for having the opportunity to accept your brokenness. It is with acceptance that you will experience the most incredibly warm and loving light of hope and possibility. I love those times where the rain has stopped and there is a break in the clouds where a beam of light breaks through offering us hope that the sun will come out again. Because it rained, we appreciate the sun even more. Because we move forward past the struggle, we overcome obstacles, we face our fears and challenges, and we learn from our mistakes, we have a deeper gratitude and appreciation for all of life as it unfolds. Then I get to be so grateful for my perfectly flawed self as I look back on where I have come from in hopeful aspiration to where I am going. See the perfection and freedom in the cracks and surrender, there is no better way!
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