Nobody’s prepared for ANYTHING. It’s like a bomb drops every time something happens. Every event becomes a major THING. My husband is living with terminal brain cancer and my business has been shut down during the pandemic, to cite a few current difficulties. However, being on a Spiritual Path, I’m prepared instead of scared AND enthusiastically moving forward despite obstacles.
In observation; family members are getting crushed by the state of the world, others are spiraling downward from the world spinning, people are consumed by what’s been lost and too many are playing the never ending blame game. It’s total and utter madness. Life doesn’t have to be this way. What if there’s a way to prepare ourselves rather than scare ourselves? When we prepare for life and its occurrences, we’re able to face challenges and move on. If we’re unprepared, we live in fear. From that place, decisions are based on falsities and misinformation. We crumble.
If you want to stop being scared, there’s hope. The following story might help.
My husband David and I went out for dinner recently, celebrating our three-year wedding anniversary. Normally, David is not an emotional man or a big sharer of feelings. Since brain cancer, he has changed. He still doesn’t emote or share much, but when he does it’s truly magnificent. Presently, he isn’t able to move, function or live the way he’s accustomed to. Most days he feels unwell and stays home. He can’t drive.
That night he spoke these words with tears in his eyes, “My mind is blown away by you every day. I have never seen anyone do what you have done and you did it. You did it all. At a time that is extremely difficult, with our situation, you are thriving and doing amazing things. You are helping hundreds of people - not just our family. You got it right and you are all set. I don’t need to worry if something happens to me. It makes me so happy to see my wife excel in every way. You don’t even need me.”
Hearing this made me think. Why is it that I am thriving when things are so chaotic? While I do love David dearly and want him in my life forever, he’s right. I don’t need him. When we NEED anything or anyone, we fuck ourselves into a dependence on external factors for our happiness. As David said, “I don’t even know how you did it,” I replied, “I know how I did”.
When students comment, “I would have never even known you were going through something like this”, I give them the same answer. It’s simple. I am prepared because of Spiritual Education! I found higher values of living through yoga philosophy. These eternal teachings are practical. For years, I’ve followed a routine of study, reflection, absorption and application to my everyday life.
Here are some of the main values, that I live by:
Do what you ought to do not necessarily what you want to do
Think everything through and make sure it aligns with reason and logic
Feel but don’t make it a big deal
Be objective and shake it off
Have an attitude of service and sacrifice in everything you do
See the light even through the darkness
Be in contact with eternal truths of life every single day
If you don’t have higher values to live by you can’t grow higher. You won’t be prepared for your 30-year old husband to have terminal brain cancer, a world pandemic, your business to be shut down for half a year, all while your home has been under major construction. You won’t be prepared for birth, death, eviction, divorce, loss of job… The list goes on because that’s the state of the world. Constantly fluctuating! People, places and things come and go. When we pick and stick with a true spiritual path, we will be prepared for anything and everything!
There’s no need to be scared if you’re prepared. Get on a path, stay with it and watch yourself rise above all the B.S. If I can do it, so can you!
CP
