None Are Immune To The Ravages Of Life
“For a tree to become tall it must grow tough roots among the rocks.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
Think of a current problem causing you distress. Imagine it as best you can without getting caught up in the details. Have you given any thought to why this experience is happening? I don’t mean the nit-picky details, but the deeper lessons contained within the event? Perhaps you haven’t arrived at that point or you are still trying to make sense of it. Here’s the thing: Every experience, particularly the undesirable ones, come into our life to teach us valuable lessons and insights about ourselves. We may experience frustration and turmoil because the situation occupies our attention as we come to terms with it.
What do I mean by having strong roots to withstand the storms of life? It is said, the tallest oak trees bury their roots deep into the ground to gather nutrients and a solid foundation from the external elements. Violent winds and Mother Nature can impose itself on the oak tree where it can topple over. We can take a leaf from Mother Nature (if you’ll pardon the pun) and create strong roots ourselves, to weather the storms of life. None of us are immune to the ravages of life. There may be seasons where we experience joy and happiness and then suddenly, we are neck deep in despair and tragedy. Life may seem unfair and unexplainable, when months earlier, everything was going our way. Have you experienced this before? If so, what were your anchoring mechanisms to overcome it? What lessons or insights did you learn about yourself?
No Two Journeys Are The Same
“When you are up against a wall, put down roots like a tree, until clarity comes from deeper sources to see over that wall and grow.” — Carl Jung
Sometimes, we may not understand the lessons until later, so it’s difficult to make sense of what is taking place. Other times, the storms blow upon us with great intensity, wreaking havoc and destroying our lives. It may seem like a disruption and we feel uncertain about the future. In my experience, trying to explain unfortunate events adds to our pain and misery. I often counsel clients to avoid looking for meaning to their misfortunes, but to flip the coin and look for the lessons contained within the experience. Meaning is subjective, and depending on our outlook, we may interpret the event negatively or positively. If you asked those close to you, they might have a different explanation for the event. Rather than explain why things happen, it is best to look for the lessons that cultivate our personal growth.
Are you comfortable with this idea that storms needn’t damper our spirit? Sometimes, it may require revisiting lessons from the past to reinforce our understanding of an event. Sometimes, lessons reappear in different form until we learn what we need to. It may be frustrating, since there is no guide or teacher to tell us when the lesson will appear. We may have to revisit the same experience until we’ve had enough and give up. However, in letting go, we may finally learn what we need to. No two journeys are the same, since we are all on different timelines, depending on our level of consciousness. For those who are aware, they may realise the lessons sooner than those who are asleep. By asleep, I am referring to someone being unconscious of their motives. The more aware of what life is trying to teach us, the less pain and suffering we will endure.
With this in mind, I’d like you to return to the opening question about a current problem causing you distress. After you finish reading this article, in your journal, write a list of five lessons the experience is trying to teach you. You may find it difficult at first because your focus will be on the negative aspects of what is taking place. I invite you to push past this barrier because it will help you release your resistance to it. Once you’ve written five lessons, reflect on it for a day or two and place it somewhere you can see it, such as on your bathroom medicine cabinet, bedroom mirror or fridge. Continue asking the following question over the coming days: “What does life want me to know about this experience?” Be attentive to what shows up as an impulse, a feeling, images, words, or otherwise. Life communicates to us in familiar ways, so pay attention to your surroundings. It is when we create strong roots to withstand the storms of life that we will learn what we need to about our life’s narrative.
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Tony Fahkry
Expert Life Coach
