“It’s only difficult if you tell yourself it’s difficult”

You’ve done nothing to earn your lifetime on this planet. Have you ever heard of sperm training? Me neither! This life was simply awarded to you by the most improbable lottery victory in all creation. Every single breath, heartbeat, kiss, smack in the face, every victory, defeat, chocolate chip cookie, lying spouse and toothless smile is a purely unconditional gift from the Uni-verse … for you.

Yes, indeed, us humans go through a lot on this planet!

Our bodies get sick. We interact with people we want to love and connect with, but find so elusive to do either. We lose jobs we love. We lose money. We make decisions that don’t work out the way we hoped. We experience addictions of infinite variety – whether to drugs, sex, shopping, TV, or even just stressful thoughts – addictions that often result in our lives smashed up against the giant boulder of unwavering reality. We lose people we love. Sometimes we even seem to lose ourselves.

I bet you’re going through something right now, in some aspect of your life, that has you wrapped up in a tight little burrito of worry, doubt, fear … maybe even sheer dread. When you think about this experience, and particularly its possible frightening consequences, I bet it looks to you like you’ll never get to experience what you so deeply want to experience … freedom, comfort, passion, peace, excitement, joy or simple contentment.

Let’s face reality, though, as you’re reading this, in this moment, you’re just fine. Obviously, right now you’re very likely in a safe, comfortable spot, with enough resources around you enabling you to look at something electronic. You’ve got eyeballs to see these words, or ears to hear the dictation, or fingers to interpret the bumps on a braille pad. I seriously doubt you’re reading this as you sprint across rooftops frantically fleeing the boogieman. (though if you are, I highly suggest stopping, turning around, and hugging your boogieman. that’s all he really wants. a free hug.)

Life on this planet as a human being is just wondrous. We humans are expressions of an infinite Uni-verse. We are literally earth come alive! And while we’re here, stuff happens. All kinds of imaginative and unthinkable stuff. That’s the non-negotiable deal. At least until we die and then stuff stops happening. (although who knows if that’s even true)

Fascinatingly, it’s easy to lose focus of the amazing miracles happening right now in SUPPORT of you even being here, especially if you give your full attention to the so-called “difficult” stuff.

But that’s the thing. Anything that happens in your life is only difficult because you decide it’s difficult. There is nothing that you can NOT experience with open arm gratitude if you only resist the temptation to label it as “difficult”. I know that sentence is one of those challenging double-negatives, but the point is you can experience anything – losing a job, your home, a loved one, a limb, freedom, even your self – without insisting the experience is “difficult”. You’ve only made that decision in your own head, anyway.

I know some of the things we go through on this planet are truly painful. As in, physiologically, stuff happens in the body that the brain will insist is profoundly uncomfortable. And we live in a culture that tells us to run away from that pain, rather than embrace it. But in running away from it, even denying these “pain” experiences, popping pills to excess or indulging our addictions, we often just prolong the pain … or bury it such that it festers and grows, returning inevitably in the form of disease or some other route of unhealthy expression.

It’s tempting and popular to label a lot of what we humans deal with as “difficult”. However, we’re not interested in “popular”. We’re up to big transformational living in this era.

You can label life and its infinite variety of circumstance “difficult” if you choose. You certainly make yourself right when you do so. But when you can focus your eyes on the fact that it’s a complete, 100% bona-fide miracle you’ve even been given the opportunity to experience this thing called “having a child” … or simply “time on this planet” … the word “difficult” just doesn’t even make sense anymore.

Now, you can relax and allow yourself to notice all the amazing stuff that supports your even having these crazy experiences in the first place … you know, like the ground you stand on, the air you breathe (does it breathe you?), the skin that contains you, the clothes that warm you, the brain that interprets for you (and keeps your intestines and everything else functioning that you wouldn’t have a clue how to operate if it wasn’t automatic!), the waters that water you, the heart that animates you … and so on.

Start telling yourself another story … that your life and everything appearing within it is a complete miracle. Seriously, try that on right now as you contemplate a so-called “difficulty” in your life. I’d be willing to bet that difficulty starts showing up different for you.

In fact, I’d be willing to bet in most cases it will simply cease to be difficult at all.

Enjoy Your Life!!