How many times have we been hit by something and said that the truth hurts? It isn’t easy swallowing that pill sometimes, and some may put it aside to deal with later, or completely ignore the truth. But it comes back. In life, we have lessons. Every encounter with someone is a lesson. How we choose to accept these lessons determines how often the lessons are repeated. That means that is we put the lessons aside or ignore them, the lessons reappear in more and more people. Do you ever find yourself asking ‘why’ questions? Why does this always happen to me? Have you considered that maybe you have been ignoring the lesson? In that light, wouldn’t it be in your best interest to be open to receiving the lesson just one last time, for the purpose of acknowledging it and moving on? Wouldn’t you be more interested in taking positive steps on your divine path than repeating the same mistakes?
Here’s the thing: Lesson’s aren’t all there is. They are like open-ended questions. Ever answer a question with another question? Ever formulate a hypothesis to answer something, only to find more questions to explore? The nature of the lesson is like our timeline. It moves forward. Always. This is why we see the lesson repeat itself when we don’t get it. This is also why the lesson becomes another even greater lesson when we accept it. And that part can be very difficult for us mere mortals. If we get the lessons and move on, what is the nature of the greater lesson? One one level, it is growth. Spiritual growth. Communal growth. Responsibility increasing. Another level. This can lead to greater happiness. But the difficulty becomes apparent when the lessons bring us truths that are hard to deal with.
Truth is like a scorching-fast baseball coming at you. You are the catcher. If you are not ready, it’s going to hit you hard! How many people can relate to that? What if I told you that there are ways to soften the blow? Wouldn’t you be interested in learning that? Are you completely free of any objection? Good! There is a good way to protect yourself. Picture a catcher in a baseball game. What does it look like? So you see special gear? That’s right, the catcher is well protected from the fastballs with protective gear and a huge catchers’ mitt. And in that sense, we can protect ourselves from the fastball truths that hit so hard. Here’s the trick:
Acceptance. Accept what is. Let go of expectations of any outcome. Let go of desires. These form attachments that distract you from the oncoming truth. Look the other way, and guess what could happen! Be ready for the truth and the lesson will reveal itself. Have that catchers’ mit ready to take that lesson in with a perfect catch. That’s acceptance!
Now let’s look at applying this principle to our lessons. There are many practices that can act as a catchers’ mitt to handle life’s pitches. There won’t be a one-size-fits-all approach, because there will be many different kinds of pitches. Fastballs, Curve balls. The slider. There is one thing that helps with each approach though. It’s breath. Yes, just breath. Breath is the space between the notes in the symphony of our life. The gasp of the crowd as the batter is struck out and you catch that lesson perfectly. If you have not done so yet, start a simple meditation practice. Be present.As you develop, you’ll be expecting what lessons are coming your way as fast as the universe can throw them.
So now we can catch those lessons without the truth hurting us so bad, simply by accepting what is. This is a natural process. Trust this process. And remember one last thing. When the catcher gets the ball, s/he doesn’t just keep it, right? The ball is thrown back. What this means – and this is very important – is that we acknowledge our lessons to the higher self. Again, meditation gets us in touch with the higher self. For more detail, I’m going to refer you to one of my workshops techniques to do exactly this. Stay tuned for groundbreaking workshops currently under development…
Thanks for reading and sharing!
=D
Lessons are nature’s most beautiful gifts!