When was the last time
you experienced a crisis? Did it seem like it was the end of the world? Did you
feel helpless, frustrated, burned-out or just down and depressed? Did you say
to yourself, "This is the last straw. I am sick and tired of being sick
and tired! This has got to stop. I can't go another day like this."?
Everyone experiences
moments where outer circumstances appear to be an overwhelming crisis. To many,
these circumstances dominate and rule their lives. To some, these crises leave
lasting scars unless they are recognized as truly being blessings. When the
worst crisis becomes your greatest blessing, you heal. Nature does not deliver
crisis without opportunity or misfortune without blessing.
Some people have crises
that drag out for years. Others seem to nip their crises in the bud almost
immediately. It's not the outer circumstances that necessarily create the
crises. While they may elicit the crises, it is a person's reaction that
actually turns circumstances into crises. The length of time it takes for you
to recognize your outer crisis as a blessing correlates with your degree of
wisdom. Pure wisdom is the instantaneous knowing that each crisis in life is
indeed a blessing. Some misfortunes don't reveal their blessing easily, while
others are recognized immediately. Hidden within all misfortunes are the seeds
of an equal but opposite fortune.
With the world's
financial crisis, hundreds of thousands of people were let go or laid off from
their jobs. Some of these people were left without income, some without other
career opportunities and some, ultimately, without their families. At first
sight, this may have been perceived as a crisis, however, many of those same
people have undergone an in-depth soul-searching and re-evaluation of their
lives, only to discover that they genuinely had a dream in their hearts to be,
do and have something more than what they were previously experiencing and
accepting. Other people have tapped into a more profound purpose for their life
than what they were allowing, and are now making their meaningful dreams come
true. They are now doing exactly what they always loved to do but never had the
guts to do until the crisis occurred.
Crises are ultimately
blessings. They are the flip side of the coin of life. Many people have been
temporarily devastated by broken relationships only to discover at some later
time that their supposed misfortune was a blessing. Their very loss was their
ultimate gain. Whenever a door shuts, a window opens.
The longer you live,
the more this seemingly paradoxical relation becomes evident and the more you
see the correlation between past crises and future blessings. Through time and
experience, your reactions subside and more patient actions result. Since blessings
are seeded in crisis and it seems quite easy to be thankful for blessings, why
not move wisely ahead and assume that any perceived crisis is a blessing? Be
thankful for its strengthening qualities. Why not act thankfully instead of
reacting pitifully?
As long as outer
circumstances run your life, you can expect a life filled with crises. But as
soon as you take charge of your reactions and change them into thankful
actions, your life will begin to flow.
Be thankful. You won't
be confronted with a crisis you can't handle. The next time you're confronted
with what appears to be a crisis, just ask yourself, "What is the hidden
blessing?" The deeper you look, the easier you will find it. When you do,
you can say "good-bye" to its corresponding frustration, anger and
depression.
No tree stood strong
without the wind.
No group stood strong
without its heretic.
No person can be strong
without a challenge.
So be thankful for
yours.
Love and Wisdom,
Dr. John Demartini
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