“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” Albert Einstein
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Albert Einstein
As we reach various ages, we begin to perceive ourselves as broken. Many of us suffer through difficult relationships with husbands wives siblings in-law, kids bosses friends home environment moves illnesses births deaths job losses etc. Sometimes we struggle through problems alone with little or no support. As we emerge out of a hurtful experience we feel fragile and broken. We believe we are used up and no longer new. We can’t ever remember what it was like to be innocent and with high expectations.
As we encounter greater issues, little by little we feel defeated and diminished even more. if we wallow in the mire of defeatism we can’t see the finer objects being offered to us. They are almost within reach. I guess it is sort of like giving up on doing any better with our life, We accept it and refuse to get up and get moving. It is an easy thing to do and requires less strength than digging ourselves out of our hole.
Even if we made the mess in our lives, we still can overcome our brokenness and put ourselves back together better than a finished puzzle. Life is not without problems which teach us to do better and to be better. The original model of ourselves, the one without any marks or scars or disfigurements, is not the model of the best of who we are. It is the cocoon or covering of what is inside of us that is growing and transforming into the real us.
Working through our difficulties helps us to grow even when we might have to suffer defeat ridicule and a total loss of self and ego. Emotional scars are present but unseen by others. We may have to encounter a short or long term illness that has a huge effect on our lifestye and is misunderstood by most people who have not encountered anything like it. The pain and scars physically, and mentally are huge. Many of us suffer relationship problems that are not always supported becasue of the social attitudes of others who blame us for bringing it on ourselves and asking for problems. These scars we keep hidden because no one sympathizes so we hide the emotional and physical and spiritual rebuffs.
None of us want, or enjoy hurt and pain. At times the pain can cut so deep we do feel blown apart and definately not whole. We totally believe that wholeness is impossible for us now and the ideas of having a broken mind and body and spirit are loathsome. We do have a lot of hope in store for us. We have simply gone through fire and we have survived. We are complete in a way that is pure and wholesome and without the flaws of ego, superiority, pride, jealousy, competitiveness, anger, and frustration. Most of us dump such items when we are in such crises. We are not armed to fight but to recover and make ourselves whole with the pieces of ourselves that are left and altered.
We have learned disappointment, fear, our own strength to survive against all odds, and love on a level that those without issues never reach. Throughout our lives, problems are tossed at us. When we finish dealing with the problem we have already started to put the puzzle of ourselves back together. After each episode a more advanced form of ourselves emerges. Sometimes it takes us awhile to comprehend the new us. It makes us nervous because of the changes. All of our challenges create a transitioned copy from our original self.
We are not worse but better provided we learned the lessons along the way. If we can admit what was correct and what was wrong and when we can not only forgive others but ourselves we have advanced. Accepting the support of others and understanding why the lack of support was not apparent is enlightening. The caterpillar must find a tree and crawl upwards as high as he can go to feed and make a cocoon. He must endure the weather and animals that want to eat him. He must have the strength and determination to make his way by crawling and avoiding being stepped on by larger creatures. It would be easier for him to remain a caterpillar and live his life on the ground. Those that choose the unknown, with trust in the outcome, emerge one day with total knowledge of the meaning of life. They are triumphant in the knowledge that they would never have acquired it, if they had given up in their worth.
We don’t want scrapes. We don’t want poison ivy. We don’t want a bee sting. We don’t want a snake bite. We don’t want to encounter an irate coyote, bear or fox. We for sure don’t want to suffer a bad sunburn. We don’t want a cold rain soaking us. We don’t want to get lost. When we are climbing a mountain sometimes those things happen, but if we want to make it to the top, we must endure all the obstacles that get into our way. The hilltop is much sweeter when we finally reach it. We simply must not give up on ourselves but look ahead and keep trudging.
“When things go wrong as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–You may succeed with another blow,
Success is failure turned inside out–The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit– It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.”- Edgar A. Guest“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” Buddha
