Illusion or Reality?
Are You Resisting or Embracing Your Life’s Circumstances
by Barb Casper
How would you describe your life thus far? Is it everything you have wished it would be? Do you believe your life path has been within your control? Or has life’s natural energy and forces carved a path for you which you never intended to follow?
The reality is your life and path have been designed for you all along. The illusion is your belief that you have had the ability and the knowledge to forge your own way. Perhaps, you have felt the need to follow the path others have chosen for you. The reality is if you continue to fight and attempt to control where your life leads and you resist your natural path and its outcomes, you are in for a real battle.
Unfortunately, with battles come battle scars. Resistance and struggle leads to additional resistance and struggle; not wellness, satisfaction and happiness.
Should you choose to approach life without any preconceived notions or expectations, you will calm the disruptive emotions and physical outcomes that occur when life becomes a battle. When life becomes a struggle, it becomes very difficult to avoid failure, loss, physical pain and life-long, chronic illnesses. Battle scars include anger, frustration, a defeatist attitude, low self-esteem, regret, sadness, and depression. When you focus on challenging your current path you will never open yourself up to the myriad of other life possibilities that may lie ahead.
A wise teacher recently helped me accept how my life has been thus far. I have learned life is a series of lessons and every experience you have been given is a gift to help you move along the path that has been chosen for you. Just because things don’t go the way you want them to, does not mean you have failed. You see, life JUST HAPPENS. Should you continue to struggle, resist and push toward what you feel is the right direction, you may totally miss the diversions being presented to you which could lead to a path of least resistance and personal fulfillment.
Dealing with chronic pain and a number of other health issues hasn’t exactly been a bed of roses and has led to many unexpected changes in my life. The path carved out for me wasn’t the one I intended to follow. I have fought accepting my circumstances because my illusion was to continue to want what I thought I couldn’t have.
My healer/teacher likened my life’s approach to a bird, injured and weighed down with pain, standing on a cliff wildly flapping its wings attempting to get off the ground. Despite symptoms of exhaustion, pain and a rising sense of defeat, a bird will continue its attempts to fly. If the bird continues to fight rather than rest and allow itself to heal, the bird will become weak, overly exhausted, unable to fly, and will eventually succumb to its pain and debilitation.
Just like the bird, my life intentions were alluding me despite my best efforts. All I wanted to do was fly and follow what I thought was my path. My valiant efforts only led to my grounding and I ended up feeling stalled and drained. My actions and behaviors simply caused additional tension, strain, and adrenal exhaustion which often resulted in the need to recoup for days before I was able to fully recover and get moving again. I failed miserably again and again to take flight because all I saw was a singular answer to what I perceived was a problem – “work harder, keep trying, be positive, never give up and, eventually, you will succeed.” This is what I had been told all my life and I believed it wholeheartedly.
My ambitions were admirable. However, my approach was less than stellar. I struggled, fought, flapped, flapped some more, and finally wore myself out. I was on the brink of falling off the cliff because all I could see was the need to return to what I thought was my path. I never noticed the winds which had been blowing in my direction all along. Deafened by my own flapping wings and blinded by my all-encompassing effort to take fight, I never heard the wind blowing or felt it on my face. I never looked to the sky to find the answers I was seeking. Never did I imagine the need to rise above my own circumstances so I could actually see things more clearly. I was certain my answers were inside.
I now realize, I simply needed to lean forward, spread my wings and wait for the air currents to sweep me up above the cliffs, look to see where I was actually heading, and then allow the currents to move me safely in a new direction. There was never a need to flap my wings widely to get off the ground and continue doing what I had always done.
It’s actually pretty insane when you think about it … THIS WAS MY ILLUSION and it led nowhere.
Resistance to change prevents all of us from growing and breaking through that which holds us back from achieving our dreams. We’ve been programmed into believing a number of illusions as to how life SHOULD BE. We have become accustomed to doing the same old things while using the same old worn out methods. What we often fail to realize is these methods, at some point in our lives, will simply no longer be effective. We are always trying to make our lives perfect, free from difficulties or problems, so our lives fit into the plan we have envisioned for ourselves.
My friends, the TRUE REALITY OF OUR LIVES is waiting for us. We simply need to let go, get out of our own way, and allow life to sweep us up and take us on a journey like no other. It is only in this moment, when we are able to look beyond our losses and our difficulties, that we will be able to see life’s blessings. Many gifts still await us, gifts we may have thought were long gone and never to be achieved.
Follow the wind my friends and see where life takes you, there is so much to experience and appreciate, if you embrace the path you have been given. Focus on what is real in life, seek clarity and assistance from above, and you will find what you are looking for. You can’t control how far you will go or where you will land but, but if you spread your wings and let the winds scoop you upwards, you will SOAR.
Meanwhile, take pride in how far you have come in LIFE. You have learned to do what is familiar and what provides security and there is no shame in that. Let it go. No blaming allowed. Replace blame with focus on what is yet to come. Move forward and grow. As each new life circumstance presents itself, open your wings to the winds of change. ACCEPT YOUR FLIGHT PATH, WELCOME THE CHANCE TO EXPLORE, AND SOAR!
