Finding Meaning In Pain

We’re only three months into 2011 and already we’ve encountered some pretty crazy natural disasters.

Australia has had terrible floods and cyclones, New Zealand has suffered one of its worst ever earthquakes, and most recently we have seen the earthquake and tsunami cause gigantic destruction in Japan, taking everything in its path. Add to these the natural disasters that have occurred in recent years in Chile, Haiti and South-east Asia (just to name a few), it seems that the world is spiralling out of order.

My thoughts are with all of those who have been affected in any way – to those who have lost their friends, their family, their home, and their belongings. My heart goes out to you.

It just doesn’t seem right that all this is happening. I'm searching for meaning behind all of these disasters. What is causing all this destruction? Global warming? Possibly. Cyclical patterns? Maybe. Or are all of these natural destructions simply coincidental? I doubt it.

In a purely spiritual sense, it seems that the recent disasters are making an effort to ‘WAKE UP THE WORLD’. You may be wondering, ‘wake up the world from what?’

The intelligent system that is our Earth is trying to wake us up from the collective dysfunction of society. Take a moment to think about the negative impact we are currently creating in the world. We’re killing animals to the point of extinction for PROFIT. We’re cutting down the world’s natural habitats and rainforests for PROFIT. We’re destructing the Earth by drilling deeper and deeper for...you guessed it, PROFIT.

People have become more conce
ed about making money than helping others. The alarmingly high rates of Botox, facial surgery, breast implants and liposuction proves that we are becoming more conce
ed about ourselves and how we appear in the eyes of others than classic values such as love, giving and providing to community. GREED and SELFISHNESS caused by fear and insecurity are slowly destructing the way that we were born to live. Our once highly held values have increasingly become neglected and consequently the amazing world that we live in is suffering. We’re hurting ourselves, we’re hurting one another and we’re hurting the world.

Rather than being fuelled by love, we’re fuelled by ego. Rather than focusing on the present moment, we incessantly think about the failures of our past and the anxieties of our future. Rather than accepting the greatness that surrounds us, we continually resist everything.

Eckhart Tolle believes there is “certain defensive measures that the Earth, which is a living, intelligent organism, is going to take to protect herself from the onslaught of human madness.”

The world has gotten to the point where collectively, people will only awaken through suffering. Of course, individuals like you and me will awaken, but as a whole, something drastic needs to happen for the world to wake up and change.

Eckhart Tolle says “Only a critical limit-situation has the potential to crack the hard shell of the ego and force them into surrender and so into the awakened state.”

Limit situations arise through disaster, deep loss and deep suffering. When one encounters disaster, death, loss of home and belongings, it shatters ones world and simply does not make sense. What one previously took for granted becomes lost forever, making us question our lives and the process of the world. It forces us to gain a new perspective of life and changes what we place importance on. During natural disasters communities show true spirit and come together to help one another. Suddenly, working 50+ hours per week so that you can acquire more money, more things and more status seems STUPID. Instead, we learn the value of helping others, community spirit, love and family.

As we re-establish our values and once again learn what is truly important, the shell of the ego is cracked and we are able to find deeper meaning in ourselves and our world. Simply, we surrender to what is and find peace and happiness within.

When something goes ‘seriously wrong’ for you – natural disasters, loss of friends and family, illness, loss, relationship breakups, suffering, etc, trust in Eckhart
Tolle’s advice and “Know there is another side to it, that you are just one step away from something incredible.”

Surrender to what is, become present, live in the NOW. Connect yourself to the intelligence that created yourself and this great world that you live in - WAKE UP.