Looking for Serenity. Well… What lens do you look through?
The first given is that everything changes. Nothing is permanent. Happiness, health, careers, hobbies, beliefs, relationships, and our bodies all change. Everything leads to a finale. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end to all things. There is a season for all things. And just as the year has four seasons, we also pass through the four seasons of our lives. Each season has lessons and learning. There is pain and grief as well as joy and ecstasy. When we forget that life is both give and take, we are susceptible to more pain than when we remember that both pain and sorrow occur naturally. As we respond to the ups and downs of our lives, the losses and the gains are truly all we have control over. What will be is never as overwhelming or frightening as what we anticipated.
When we put on our “What’s Right” glasses we have the opportunity to stop identifying ourselves as our pain. When we become the observer of the person who is in pain, we are one step removed from it, and we can perceive the situation differently. Instead of wallowing in it, we become the observer of the experience. This small shift in perception can drastically change our attitudes.
Sometimes we have to go through the worst to arrive at our best. And, often our most significant opportunities are in times of our greatest difficulties. Having faith this is true can be challenging for many. We have to trust that we can’t always see the big picture. We know it is there, and we need to trust that all things will work out exactly as they should for the evolution of our souls.
We all have worries and fears. Worry is directly related to control. A cause of the anxiety is that we cannot control what is coming down the line. When we begin to say “yes’ to the realities of our lives, we worry less. When we put our faith in our faith, instead of in our fear, we worry less. When we recognize that life will happen exactly as the Universe has prescribed for the evolution of our souls, we worry less.
Life happens. The seasons come and go. Babies are born and elders pass away. That we live in impermanence is a fact of life. The importance of that fact is our need to live in the moment. That is not to say our thoughts and beliefs can’t help guide our tomorrows, but they can’t stop the impermanence. Gratitude for today is our greatest tool in combating worry and fear. Living a life of gratitude for what we have right now keeps us grounded.
The pain comes from our interpretation, but our greatest gift is our ability to change our perceptions. Serenity comes from not only accepting what we cannot change, but also from giving up trying to change what we cannot change. Adjust the lens and we alter our feelings. Our thoughts become our reality so think positively!
When we can relax into the “what is” life takes on a peaceful calm.
In the words of Debbie Ford:
“When you surrender your will, you are saying, “Even though things are not exactly how I’d like them to be, I will face my reality. I will look it directly in the eye and allow it to be here.” Surrender and serenity are synonymous; you can’t experience one without the other. So if it’s serenity you’re searching for, it’s close by. All you have to do is resign as General Manager of the Universe. Choose to trust that there is a greater plan for you and that if you surrender, it will be unfolded in time.”
