There’s that one experience, that one person, that one behavior that pulls you off your center in a way that causes you to become unrecognizable to yourself. Oh we all have at least one. What’s yours? I definitely know mine and I also know that I long to master the ability to stay still and unmoved as the experience happens. I have come a long way, believe me, in my level of reaction but I have yet to master the teaching. It is hard. I am not going to lie to you. If it’s not then you are probably the Dalai Lama or some other such fully actualized being. I admit that with this particular experience, I’m nowhere near there. I find myself saying and doing things that I would never find fit to include in my behavioral repertoire. I do my best and that still falls short of the mark I am aiming for, however I get closer and closer each time.
Do I wish the circumstance/person would just disappear? Ummmm, yes! Sure would make my life a whole lot easier from my perspective. But I also know that there is my perspective on the situation, the other’s perspective, and then there is the higher perspective. That perspective is God’s vantage point, the highest level of our consciousness, where everything happening is actually seen as perfect. God is not saying that what I’m going through is unfair (that’s how I see it). God is most likely saying, “I know this feels bad but it is so perfectly what you need in this moment to reveal more of your true self, bring forward the highest qualities in you, and clear out anything that needs healing so your light can shine brighter.” I’m saying, “Really? But does it have to be so hard?!”
The answer is that it feels so hard because I don’t accept it as good for me and because my vantage point is not as high as God’s, I can’t see how perfectly this experience is woven into the larger fabric of my life and purpose. I might see it years down the line and get why I needed to go through it, but that usually comes only if I’ve finally mastered the lesson and have no need for the experience any longer. If I could strive to see through God’s eyes, I would understand the necessity of the circumstance in my preparation for the next leg of my life journey. Even if I can’t see how it all fits together now, I can do the work it presents to me and then I will see how rightly it fit into my life’s unfolding.
In the heat of the moment, it is hard to see from God’s perspective. So I practice it when I can contemplate the situation at a more relaxed time. Eventually, it will be the way I see it even in the heat of the moment. In the meantime I work with everything that comes up for me when I’m triggered by the moment. I watch it, I allow it to pass through me, I walk through any fears that show up, I work on the practice of not acting if I can help it, either. I try not to act on what I feel in the moment if I can help it because that is an avoidance of what is coming up. It’s me trying to fix or change the situation or the person and their behavior in order to feel better, instead of looking at my own stuff. Believe me, this is a practice and I don’t always manage to do even a good job at it. But I notice myself getting better and better at it. I can do what’s necessary in the moment if action is required but its best if I don’t engage in an attempt to change anything about the external circumstance.
Even if I can only manage to adjust myself and my perspective after the fact, I still consider it progress, and you should too. The point is to aim for seeing things from the highest perspective, through God’s eyes. Then we see how everything is perfectly given to us as a gift to help us remember who we are and to reveal our truth. We’re not trying to change into someone who is self actualized and perfect. What we’re doing is just clearing away everything that obscures this truth about us. We are completely perfect and actualized, whole and healed.
So, every person and situation that comes along to rattle our cage is the one giving us the keys to our freedom. Thank them or the situation for bringing you back to yourself and being the catalyst to unveiling your truth. A higher perspective is all the solution that you need, and it could mean the difference between a prison of your own suffering and setting yourself free. Remember, this inner revolution is all about gaining your freedom!