Wonder Woman: Truths About Life

20080301WonderWoman1.jpgThe Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha began with "Life is
suffering". A great and profound truth, if not a particularly encouraging one! It’s
easy to be optimistic and focused when everything is going well, but a lot more
challenging to hold on to that when things get difficult.

Many of us have an expectation that life should be easy and that
our challenges are some kind of trial or tribulation unfairly burdening us, our
family, or even our country. From this perspective, we’re victims of
circumstance and there is little we can do other than be hurt or angry.

Like Yeast For Bread

There is a wonderful story about the philosopher GI Gurdjieff, and his
teaching of endurance in difficult situations. During his years of leading a
spiritual community, an elderly man who no-one liked took up residence there. The
man was argumentative, untidy, uncooperative and never did his fair share of the
chores. One day, annoyed with knowing that no-one liked him, he packed and left.
The relief amongst the other residents was palpable. Gurdjieff, however,
followed the man and offered him a monthly payment if he would return to the
community.

The man agreed and, to the frustration of the other residents, returned
that evening. Their unhappiness increased considerably on learning about the
payment the old man would henceforth receive.

After hearing their indignant complaints, Gurdjieff said: "This man is
like yeast for bread. Without him here, you would never really learn about
anger, irritability, patience and compassion. That is why you pay me, and why I
hire him."

Now that may be a step beyond what you or I might consider fair or even sane,
but it certainly carries a strong message about choosing our attitude in
challenging circumstances.

Journey Through the Clouds

20080301WonderWoman2.jpgWe can easily and often justifiably complain about our external
circumstances: the traffic, the power outages, the unfairness of an employer or
teacher; even though complaining resolves very little. What it does do though
is to distract us from seeing how a particular difficulty might be changed or
could even benefit us in some unexpected way. Benjamin Franklin summed it up
perfectly when he said that "Those things that hurt, instruct." 

If you look back over your own life, you will probably find that the painful,
difficult or uncomfortable situations you have lived through have taught you
far more than the care-free, happy times. We certainly do grow as people when
we’re happy, because we build our optimism and confidence when times are good.

In difficult times though, we call on different qualities that often
become the characteristics defining us as human beings: our inner strength; our
capacity to endure gracefully; our courage in facing problems without
succumbing to the false "feel good" of destructive behavior such as eating,
drinking or smoking our problems away.

Life may well be hard; and for each of us, at different times, in
different ways it probably always will be. And therein lies its gift; for if every
situation has something to teach us, we can also expect to find joy and wisdom
on other side each time we journey through the clouds.

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About the Author:

Kass Naidoo

Kass Naidoo

Passionate sports broadcaster and founder of gsport4girls

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