How does the idea that you are a victorious survivor of life make you feel? Does it feel true or completely false? If we cannot proclaim ourselves as victorious survivors of life, it might be because we see ourselves as victims of our circumstances and greatest challenges. Being a victim never helped anybody to work through their circumstances. It is when we can remember that we are always victorious survivors of life, we have a better mindset to put our circumstances in their proper perspective and find a way to work through them. We are always larger than our circumstances, no matter how difficult they may seem.
It seems like everywhere we turn, somebody is telling us that we are a helpless, powerless victim of circumstances. We feel victimized by the economy, our genetic predisposition, scams, our family background, our education and so on. The moment we agree with anyone who is trying to convince us that we are victims, then we have given away our power to that person and that idea. As victims, we tell ourselves that is no use in trying to overcome our circumstances because we have consciously or unconsciously chosen to accept defeat.
As a child, I had great aunts and uncles who lived through the 1920s depression and rationing during World War II. They could tell stories about how lean times were, but the moral of their stories was always about surviving. Nobody ever went homeless or hungry. They simply had to adapt to the changing times.
Fast forward to today's economic recession and all the gloomy financial news that comes out daily. People are afraid about what will happen in the future. Will they have a job? Will they be able to keep their home? Will they be able to feed themselves and their families? With all this financial uncertainty, this is a time of great worry. Many people feel helpless and powerless about the financial difficulties within their lives and about their future. People who have lost their jobs or homes feel like victims of the weak economy.
With all the uncertainty about the future and all the distressing economic changes happening, it is important that we all remember that we are always survivors--not victims. We may not be able to control external events and circumstances, but we can control how we perceive them. We can choose how we respond to our circumstances. We always have a choice to view economic uncertainty or any unwanted circumstance as a difficult experience that serves us in some way. We can choose to believe that every dark cloud within our lives comes with a blessing inside of it. Every experience and circumstance always has a deeper purpose that always benefits us in the long term. Sure, we may experience some loss and discomfort, but we will gain far more than we ever lost. We can choose to be flexible and adaptable to our changing circumstances.
The other choice we have is to see ourselves as helpless, powerless victims caught up in a cruel, mad world. We can live in fear of what bad circumstance may happen next. We can choose to believe that our experiences are random and meaningless. We can choose to believe that our circumstances only hurt us instead of benefit us. We can choose to be inflexible and try to fight the change that is being thrust upon us as if we can actually resist it. We are probably more familiar with perceiving ourselves as a victim of our circumstances instead of a survivor.
Regardless of our circumstances, we are never victims. It does not matter how difficult or devastating our circumstances, we are never victims. We can survive anything that life throws at us. Sure it may be painful and difficult to work through the difficulty, but we will survive. We will live to tell about it. We will regain our footing again and be on solid ground once again. Sure, we may have to change and adapt to a new lifestyle that we did not seek out, but this change may actually be for our benefit in the long run. We may be confused about what to do, but we will find the strength to work through the confusion and discover clarity again. We may discover that we can lose something that we valued and treasured, but our lives will go on again. We are bigger than any possession or any job. We can mourn our losses and find the strength to move on. We will find a way to survive again, even if the terrain is different and unfamiliar to us.
So much of our emotional pain comes from being too attached to our possessions or even our way of life. Ancient spiritual wisdom teaches that we never own anything spiritually. In the physical world, we may have a deed to a house or a title to a car that certifies our ownership, but we are merely temporary caretakers of these possessions. We are also temporary caretakers of a business, even if we are the owners and it bears our name. If we can remind ourselves of the temporary nature of our use of possessions, then it helps us to avoid getting too emotionally attached to them.
We can never know in advance how long we will be caretakers to any possession--it may be a few years or even as long as thirty years. However, when the time comes for us to relish the possession, we need to remember that letting go and receiving is a natural cycle of life. We need to let go, so that we can be open and ready to receive whatever is next for us. We may not control the when and how our possessions move on from us. Spiritual wisdom does not promise that we have to receive back an exact replacement for what we have relinquished, either. If we are seeking to get back what we have lost, then we might be creating more misery for ourselves. Sometimes, a loss adds more to our lives than it really takes away.
We also need to remind ourselves that we are here to experience many different ways of living and careers. A business or career was never meant to last an entire lifetime. We probably grew up learning that we have to choose one career path and stay on it until we retire. In reality, we may choose to end an unsatisfying career or circumstances may end it for us, but we must always stay open to the idea of using many different talents to earn our livelihood throughout our lives.
It is wise to remember that life is about adapting and being flexible to changing circumstances. We have been taught to seek and maintain security--we like the comfort of a routine and the predictability of maintaining familiarity within our lives. We cannot avoid change, no matter how hard we try. Being ready to meet change and adapt to our changing circumstances might be a better way to live. We cannot always predict when change is going to strike next, but we can never be surprised by change at all.
Change may create unpleasant circumstances that force us to move away from something that we enjoyed or served us well for a long time. Now we are on the path of the unknown where it feels scary and the future seems murky. In the unknown, we have to surrender our need to be in control. It is wiser to be open and willing go where life takes us. The more we try to control what happens on this new path or try to redirect our way back to where we have been, we are creating more resistance. Resistance equals misery. Surrender equals peace, even if it feels uncomfortable and uncertain in the beginning.
When we adapt, we can clearly see that we are victorious survivors of change instead of helpless victims. As adaptors, we can be ready to seize the new opportunities and possibilities that come with change, which always accompanies it. We know that the ride through change will have its share of highs and lows, but we need to trust that we can survive it. We can focus on what we could be gaining instead of thinking solely what we are losing with change.
Life is always supporting us, even when it forces us to change when we do not want to do it. Change and loss always create an opportunity to open us up to a higher level of living if we allow it. Moving our lives to a higher level is not always easy and neat. It can be messy, confusing, frustrating and packed with a wallop of difficult emotions. Often the journey from where we have been to where we need to be contains highs, lows and detours. It may feel like we are going nowhere or that we have no sense of direction. Our faith and trust will guide us through these dark times to brighter days.
As you brace yourself for whatever difficulty you may face, remember that you are a survivor. You and your life are bigger than any problem or circumstance. Remind yourself that every difficulty comes with an opportunity. Understand that every experience serves your highest good. Life is supporting you and working for you, even if you are not getting what you want right now. Be curious about the lessons and opportunities that come with each difficulty. Challenge yourself to examine yourself and your life and see how you can use your difficulty to grow your life to the next level. Be ready to get off automatic mode if that is the way you have been living your life. Be active and alert to what your instincts are saying and where they are guiding. Trust that you will survive your difficulty and thrive again, even if your life is different or not what you expected it to be.
Copyright©2009 Jeannine Robinson All Rights Reserved