The word is out that so many of the opinions we 1) hold to our bosom 2) defend at the expense of losing a friend 3) keep us in a prison of our own making 4) sometimes lose our life over – are not our own. What a neat thing to know, sounds like a valuable bit of information to have. These opinions, beliefs, statements have been accumulating in our storage system since we were babes. We didn’t have a chance to figure out what our take on life could be because we learned about the things of life from everyone else – the this ‘n that of what they’ve accumulated. That’s the way of the world. However, now we can think about singing our own songs.
It’s time for us to figure out what’s ours and what’s not – sort of categorize opinions and beliefs and begin anew. Why not? Think of the possibilities. Imagine another view, one we’re capable of choosing because we were born with our own song in our heart. Of course, they’ll be that old companion, fear, right at our side. It could be that its bark is a lot worse than its bite. We just have an uncanny way of making it seem bigger than life. Seems that it likes to be heard, but when we pretend not to hear it – to simply go along our own way, finally trusting in our own selves, it gets lonesome and starts looking for a new place to hover around.
When the universe comes knocking at our door to help us learn more about ourself and Life, a lot of times it does this in the form of what we call pain and suffering. We forget that there’s lots of opportunity to learn and grow with these experiences of pain and suffering. But because we believe everything we’ve learned, we keep bolting the door, afraid of change, afraid to step up to the plate. So, the universe knocks harder and longer, and perhaps gives us a wallop or two to bring us to our senses, and to give us another opportunity to change what’s not working. These experiences seem to be the only way we, sometimes foolish, humans learn. Better to learn and go on our merry way than to stay with the same old story.
We don’t like it when things go wrong in our life. Well, of course not. That seems like a silly sentence. Ah, but let’s go back. If we don’t like when things go wrong, why do we keep doing things in the same way? If we were paying attention to Life, we should have learned by now that when things go wrong it’s an opportunity to make them right. Does that make sense?
So, the universe comes knocking at our door, and asking, are you ready? If we bolt the door, and cry in our misery, we’re never going to discover what the universe has in store for us. When we read the stories of people coming from places that are so far removed from where they are now, it’s mostly because they weren’t afraid to open the door, shake up their world, find out what needs to happen for change to occur, to take matters into their own hands, so to speak, – to begin to understand, to not be afraid of shedding worn out beliefs, opinions, etc.
The universe tries and tries, but somehow in our misery we don’t see it that way. It’s a pattern we’ve learned, along with the opinions of others, the beliefs of others, the seemingly written-in-stone statements of others. It’s so hard at first, but on second thought, it’s harder to stay and do nothing, to wallow in the accumulated beliefs and opinions, pain and suffering that have a way of blurring the truth until we decide we want to see the light – no matter what.
“Do you know the meditations of our poet Rumi?
He has written that there is no reason for fear.
It is our imagination that blocks us just as a wooden bolt holds the door.”