Reorganizing Your Life

I don’t think there are many people alive today whose lives are stress-free. In fact, many of us – probably most of us - are experiencing more stress than ever before. But it’s important to be aware that even though stress can be so debilitating, it also has a profound and positive purpose. It can be a catalyst for real change. nnThere’s a famous saying you’ve probably heard, that says: “The fire that melts the butter tempers the steel.” Or maybe you’ve heard a different version: “Whatever doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.” Either way, it’s absolutely true. It really works that way. nnAny organism that’s stressed just a little bit can usually adapt. For example, if you twist your ankle, you can stop walking and become a couch potato, or you can get around by limping, or you can go out and buy an Ace bandage. If you feel tense, you can take the edge off by drinking a beer, or popping a pill, or picking on your spouse, or whatever else you typically do to let off steam. If your bills are bigger than your income, you can adapt by dipping into your savings, or borrowing money, or trying to make a deal with the bank. nnWe all adapt, and in many ways. And whether we’re talking about an individual, a family, a community, a nation or the world as a whole, the adaption process works more or less the same way. Like taking aspirin, adapting controls the symptoms if they’re not too severe, but it doesn’t do anything to resolve the underlying problem. Actually, almost every time you do something to adapt, you end up creating another imbalance somewhere else. So, even if things feel better for a while, beneath the surface they’re actually getting worse. nnEventually, if the underlying problem doesn’t resolve, you’ll reach a point where you just can’t adapt anymore. You’ve gone too far out of balance, and the ratio between what you have to adapt to and the capacity you have left for adapting no longer works. Once you reach that point, you’re in great danger of damaging your relationships or your health, or even more. But you also have an opportunity – to start to see the situation for what it is and let go of the adaptive behaviors that no longer work. You can take a deep and authentic look, at that point, at the beliefs, expectations, behaviors and choices that brought you to where you are now, and if any of these don’t work, you can reorganize them. And when you do, your life will begin to heal and transform – and often in truly miraculous ways. nnThat same opportunity for reorganization is concealed within all of the crises and challenges we face today. As individuals or as nations, we can keep trying to adapt. We can sweep things under the carpet, we can do risky things to preserve the status quo – or try to. We can drink more, eat more, yell more, sleep more, or internalize the stress, carrying it in our bodies in order to avoid having to face it with our minds. But we can only do these things for a time - until the cost becomes too great and we can’t adapt anymore. nnSo here’s our choice: We can wait for that point to come. Or, we can take the high road; take things into our own hands and start to turn the stress and challenge into a catalyst for real change. We can stop trying to force things to work the way they always worked before and search for new possibilities and new ways of being. We can begin an authentic exploration of ourselves, our lives, our deepest values and our true desires, so that we can live in more aligned and meaningful ways. We can start to identify and reorganize those beliefs, illusions and behaviors that brought us to where we are today. And we can embrace the fact that change is inevitable – but pain is not. As we open ourselves to higher levels of spiritual knowledge, Divine consciousness; as we make a stronger commitment to live our purpose, to be sensitive and kind to those around us, and to deepen and expand our connection to and trust in G-d, we will begin to experience whole new levels of aliveness, wonder and joy. nnSo here’s a meditation for you: nnWhat beliefs are you hanging on to that may be causing you unnecessary pain? Dig deep, and try to challenge those beliefs. Then, ask yourself what you really need to be happy; what you really need to give your life true meaning and joy. And last but not least, what choices would you have to make in order to experience or accomplish those things, right now, starting today? nn(c) Shifra Hendrie, The Devine Puzzle