Life is full of troubles and difficulties: some invited through the ways we do things from day to day and others uninvited. Regardless, it is a struggle to work through them.
Often, we are not equipped to handle the overwhelming sadness, anxiety, stress or hopelessness that can set in while going through troubling times but there are ways to survive difficulties and even thrive these.
Pema Chodron, a veteran monk has following advice to work through difficulties, survive and thrive through difficulties:
- No more struggling
- Poison as medicine
- Acknowledge everything that emerges as a manifestation of awakened energy
In short, what she is advocating is this: stop struggling with yourself. Rest a little and see if you can bring clarity to whatever is bothering you. Chart your next course on this clarity. Second, use whatever is bothering you as a medicine, an opportunity to shift things, feelings, and emotions. The difficulty you are facing right now could be life’s way of shaking you awake. Don’t do what you have always done before: run away. For once, stand still and be aware and awake. Third, working through troubles is a process. It takes its own time. See if you can take the courage to acknowledge whatever is arising in your life as manifestation of this new awakened awareness, even if it feels uncomfortable now.
By taking this approach, we shift gears of our customary responses to common difficulties, from reactionary to intentional and deliberate. Being compassionate, paying attention and following The Middle Way also help during difficult times.
