Very interesting piece, Alex — & one can tell from the comments that it’s well received, helpful to many.
What I’ve found is that it’s our subconscious narrative, home of our Belief Systems, that tends to chart our course. By merely shifting our attitude towards certain things the way smooths out.
For instance, holding a belief that there’s a dark current blowing our way at all times — I find no benefit in that, so I’ll share another possibility, the one I’ve planted in my Garden of Beliefs. Yes, as you’ve noted there is a light & dark duality within which we plot our chosen course.
However, we can also choose to see that there’s no actual dark current, but only a beneficent, uplifting one — with which we either choose to align, or not. This paints our experiences in a very different light, which is actually empowering.
Yes, the ups & downs come — to all of us — it’s how we SEE them that makes the difference in any life. As you say, it’s fine to accept that there will be challenging times — to not self-condemn or criticize, since they’re just facts of life. Yet, when we take the step that paints them in a new light, there’s empowerment even midst the dark times.
When we dive deeply within, setting mind to the side (appropriate for the “spiritual” things of life), we can more easily find (& align) with that flow. We can actually adopt an attitude of Gratitude toward whatever comes our way. By knowing it’s simply all beneficial, we see it all through new eyes, able to see the blessing in disguise that arrives as the challenge (& sometimes it will take some time before we see that).
We can make the assumption — again, this comes from our deeper spaces, which I call Heart, not on the level of the mind — that simply EVERYTHING that comes our way is only for our benefit. It knocks the mind on its rear, often enough, but we’re working on deeper levels with this stuff. The only part we play with the mind is work on our attitudes & negative beliefs — which we all have.
It’s quite handy that the only thing in Life over which we have power & authority is the self. We don’t need to try to steer others or outer circumstances in any direction to make major changes in our life — only the self. As we come to a deeper recognition of the amazing power of thought, attitude, & beliefs, we’re well on our way to morphing all of that.
There is actually a benevolent stream endlessly blowing whose winds we can ride, not any time we like, but any time we choose to align with them — the work of Heart. In the end, it finally always amounts to getting out of our own way.
Anyway, FWIW — enjoyed your writing, your sharing of your journey. Medium is so awesome for that, no intrusive commercials/ads butting in. 😃
~♥~
