A friend of mine, Lorrie, shared this image on Facebook from Happiness.org and it immediately put me in “thought” mode, a reflective time where I just sit back, chill out, and just ponder…
“This is very interesting!” I thought as I continued to stare wondrously at the image. I started to think about some of the not-so-good things, thoughts, feelings, and events occurring around me and I can see how it all makes sense.
So of course I had to check out who this Pema Chodron is. She’s definitely on to something. 
…Maybe the only enemy is that we don’t like the way reality is now and therefore wish it would go away fast. But what we find as practitioners is that nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. If we run a hundred miles an hour to the other end of the continent in order to get away from the obstacle, we find the very same problem waiting for us when we arrive. It just keeps returning with new names, forms, manifestations until we learn whatever it has to teach us about where we are separating ourselves from reality, how we are pulling back instead of opening up, closing down instead of allowing ourselves to experience fully whatever we encounter, without hesitating or retreating into ourselves.
Nothing Ever Goes Away Until…
My Challenge to You
So the next time you find yourself in recurring patterns that don’t work for you and are causing strife in your life (sickness, negative relationships, pain, despair, or any other non-loving, non-happy situations), ask yourself this one question:
What can I learn from this situation RIGHT NOW?
I encourage you to go into reflection mode every now and then and analyze any repeating patterns you may find in your life. I have challenged myself to do this more often too and am finding that I’m awakening (spiritually) a lot faster, being more grateful, doing things more easily, loving more unconditionally, not letting outside influences dictate my mood, and so on and so forth.
I want this for YOU as well!
Now this doesn’t mean that problems will never arise again or that you won’t find yourself in a different type of recurring, defeating patterns but at least the next time it happens, you’ll be better equipped to deal.
What say you? Weigh in family!
Let this moment be your teacher. -Thich Nhat Hanh
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Kesha, this was beautiful. I can relate to this post in many ways. I have made mistakes that I didn’t forgive myself for and low and behold, I repeated the same mistakes years later. Karma is a —– and it will come back to you, but I have found that if you make it right by the ones you wronged, Karma is burned.
I might be wrong, but it’s life lessons from those instances that made me look in the mirror for my misgivings and how to make it right. And then I too asked myself…”what am I suppose to learn from this”, but at that time I was at my lowest point. Life has a funny way of dealing you cards to play, but its how you play those cards that determines the outcome. I needed this today girl..thanks Kesha!
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Sonia, girl, thank you so much for sharing your feedback!
So glad I could offer something that inspires you….yes, those cards we’re dealt…like in any game, including life, we have to know how to play them and make the best of what we’re given. We can either play the game to win big (and playing a Boston) or get set and lose *thinking about Spades right now LOL*
You hit it on the head with that thought!
Hey Kesha,
What’s up! How have you been girl? What a wonderful post for me to read today and it brought me back to a memory that when I read about this topic, always sends me to the same one.
Okay so here goes… A the age of 27 I was engaged to be married to the love of my life. Oh yeah, we were so in love that people would tell us when we’re together it’s like no one else even exists. We had been together for five years but he called the wedding off 5 weeks and 2 days before we were to say our I Do’s. Still to this day I have never been given a reason why.
Everything happens for a reason and there are lessons in everything right! 27 years later and I still don’t know what that lesson was or why that happened. If only I knew maybe I could have accepted it all better because I didn’t take that very well.
To this day I have difficulties with relationships which is why I gave up on those years ago. I know, I know… I’ve done enough work on myself that I know better now and I did eventually get past all of that and I don’t think of that anymore until someone brings this type of thing up.
I’d still like to know what that lesson was because obviously I haven’t learned it YET!!!
Thanks girl, I enjoyed this post. I think! lol…
Have a good day!
~Adrienne
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Adrienne recently posted..Futuristic Marketing, Another Award Winning System
Adrienne, that is something I don’t think I would have taken well either! As much as I practice forgiving people and getting over stuff a whole lot quicker these days, something like that would probably take a whole lot longer
You mentioned you’ve done “work” on yourself….I’m betting that whatever you need to learn, you’ve done so by now.
OR maybe the lesson doesn’t have much to do with the breakup itself but the overall situation, relationship, etc. Maybe it has nothing to do with the guy per se. Maybe he was just a vessel for an awakening you needed.
I know, lots of maybes right. That’s because I can only speculate. Only you can figure that part out
Here’s to all the healthy, happy, harmonious relationships you can handle – including with me!
~Kesha
Ok, first of all I love your Fruit Loop motto. That’s awesome. Second of all, I love Pema Chodron! I’ve been reading her stuff for a while and it’s always inspiring. I read a lot of zen-like books and they always say things exactly like you bring up here – things that are so simple, so true, and sometimes we just don’t want to hear them.
Your story about the person who ended up in the exact same place? Yup! You can outrun a particular situation but you can’t outrun yourself. And chances are, you’re going to recreate that situation anyway, just like in your example.
A problem is only a problem if you think it is. It’s so important to reflect and as you said, give yourself time to learn from an experience. this was an inspirational post and I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for inspiring me to be a little bit more reflective!
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So grateful for your feedback Carol! Reflection is what it’s all about!
I’m glad you mentioned your thoughts about Pema. I’m definitely gonna check her out more now!
YES! I could say more (because I am a talker), but you covered it all BEAUTIFULLY! This was just the reminder I needed today! Thank you, Kesha!
p.s. Like commenter Carol Lynn said, your Fruit Loop motto – the best!!
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Well, we should talk further about this topic then Karen!
Love ‘Square Peg Karen” by the way
Sounds like we could be sisters from another mother!
I have seen so many examples of this with people in relationships. Instead of looking at what it is about the person or relationship that they don’t like, they rush headlong into the next. So what do they get? More of the same.
After any situation or relationship (good or bad) it’s always good to look for the lesson and be grateful for it. then there is really a chance to move onward and upward. Thanks for the great insight Kesha!
Can you please get a bullhorn and travel around and shout what you just said to the world because it doesn’t seem like anyone is doing this!!
How can people expect anything to change when they run from relationship to relationship with the same (or even more) baggage??
I got your back too you when you start this cause
Kesha,
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Oh, wow, this one is so timely for me. Your post came at the perfect time for me as I work to heal and forgive others. Wow, thank you! I needed this one today! Many thanks. Also, very awesome graphic there above. I love your question about what I can learn right now. Oh, going to journal on this! Thank you, xoxo
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Ahhh, the synchronous Universe. Well, I’m glad I could be the vessel to send this message to you.
Journal on sista!
Wow – it’s powerful isn’t it and when you look back at anything that has not gone right, it’s much easier to decide that you were just unlucky or that something else was to blame and not that we attracted it or didn’t learn from it.
I really wish this sort of thing was taught at school – it would have served me so much better than pythagoras’ theory!!
Nicky
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Nicky recently posted..MLSP |Simply the Best Network Marketing Training System
Oooh, don’t get me started on what I think should be taught in school. It would be half of what’s being taught right now and replaced with REAL life lessons.
Thanks for stopping in Nicky and hope to see you back soon!
~Kesha