Have you ever found yourself in a hole. Consider the holes we spend time in within our lives. We sometimes feel we are in so deep that we cannot get out. We stress and fret about what to do. We struggle and try to dig, climb, jump and scratch out way out of the hole, but we can’t seem to get anywhere.
What if the problem was not the hole itself? We think the holes are the problem. We think that our relationships, jobs, bosses, finances, families, friends, neighbors, etc. are the problems. What if the holes we are in with those things are not about those things at all?
What if the problem was our reaction to the hole? In a hole, we feel scared, and say things like, “This hole is dangerous. If I don’t get out, something bad will happen!” We feel angry and say, “Why am I in this hole? I shouldn’t be in this hole!” We feel sad and helpless, “I’m never going to get out of this hole. It’s too deep. I’m not good enough to get out of it.” We feel weak and useless, “What’s wrong with me. I can’t believe I am in this hole again.” We start blaming, “It’s not my fault I’m in here, you put me in here!” We start to hide the fact that we are in a hole, or go into denial, “What hole? I don’t see a hole.” We might attack by throwing rocks at passers-by our hole. None of this changes the hole or the fact that we are in a hole. None of this leads us to the way out of the hole.
What if we reacted differently to the hole? We if we saw the hole for what it was, a hole? What if we took ownership of the hole without shaming ourselves or blaming others for the hole? What if we were strong enough to ask someone else for help out of the hole? What if we were discerning enough to know who would help us out, and who tended to inspire us to dig ourselves in deeper? What if we understood the hole had a divine purpose, and spent time studying the hole looking for the reason it was there FOR us? We if we loved and thanked the hole for the gift it was to us?
The problem is never the hole we are in. It is always how we are reacting to the hole. I know this because other people are in the same holes I am in. All throughout my life I have seen other people struggle to dig themselves out of the exact same holes that I have found myself inside of, and some of them react with peace and patience, and some of them react with anger and fear. Those reacting with peace and patience end of outside of the hole with little or no effort. Those reacting with anger and fear sometimes never find their way out of the holes they live in. This is also true for me.
The hole is there FOR you. Whatever it is, is for you and your life’s purpose. The trick is to stop focusing on the hole, and start focusing on its purpose.
Meditation Focus: Whatever hole you are in, is not about the hole. It is about the purpose of the hole in your life. Focus attention on the possibilities of that with an open heart and mind. Breathe quietly and listen for the wisdom of the hole to speak to you.
Aad Guray Nameh, I bow to the wisdom of the ages (to the wisdom of my hole LOL, 🙂