What is your coping mechanism when you are faced with a challenging situation? Maybe it’s something you don’t know how to deal with? Maybe it’s a crossroad in your life and you need to make a decision? Maybe you feel forced into a situation or uncomfortable? There could be something in your life making you unhappy but you don’t know what to do to change it.
Life will throw you curve balls. You may catch some of them, you may miss them, or they may hit you in the face. It’s how you deal with these challenges, how you overcome them, how you laugh off your fears and stand your ground that makes all of the difference. Find some empowerment through your challenges, let them help you grow, evolve, and find peace within yourself. The first step in dealing with a challenging situation is to become an observer.
Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine you are in the middle of a dessert on a dark night. There is a giant bolder in the middle of the dessert and you climb up to sit on the top as you gaze at the stars twinkling in the deep dark blue sky. As you sit here and contemplate your life imagine that sitting on this rock you are the observer of the thoughts in your mind. The dessert is your mind when it is clear of thoughts – empty all except for the bolder (the observer). When your mind is still and calm you can only sense the wind and feel the spaciousness of the night sky. When your thoughts are racing you see the tumble weeds floating by, sometimes they are coming right at you and sometimes pass you by. As you gaze out into the openness feel that sense of openness in your heart and your mind. As the observer on the rock you see these thoughts for what they are … just tumble weeds passing through. You recognize them but are comforted by the stability of the rock. As the observer you are not attached to the drifting thoughts. You just watch them come and go. You are not attached to the outcome of where they land. You are free.
When it comes to dealing with challenging situations see if you can place yourself on that rock. Observe what is coming and going. Observe what you can’t control. Find acceptance in this place within yourself. From moment to moment if you live your life in this way you will become more at peace, more comfortable with who you are, that no matter the challenge that arises you will have built an inner strength that is solid just like the rock. Know that the millions of thoughts you will have in a lifetime will just come and go. Some challenges may alter your life in a way that feels shaky. Come back to that center within you – the place that just sits quietly and observes thoughts, and from this place find a sense of grounding, of purpose, and of strength.