"The world ain't supposed to be easy." - Tupac Shakur
When I was a child I constantly got the impression and message from people around me that life's tests are something to be scared of; that they are either mishaps or punishments for sins; that we are supposed to avoid them, and that people who constantly face challenges in life are unfortunate.
I grew up fearing life and its obstacles. The more I feared life, the more I was presented with the toughest of challenges.
For me, life was like a video game in which every new level was more complicated and tougher than the previous stage. However, the only difference was that video games can be paused or we can start a specific level from the very beginning but in real life, everything moves without a pause. We can't stop something at a certain level, rewind it and correct what went wrong. Nor can we can't erase what we don't like.
With the passage of time the intensity and the number of challenges increased for me. I felt like a lost child in a big, indifferent crowd. When I look back I see myself struggling like a drowning person in the middle of an ocean, trying to get hold of a straw that was never there. I can also hear myself saying, "I can do it", "I can do it". I can feel a presence encouraging me and saying, "I AM with you. Yes, you can do it".
"Life doesn't get easier, you get stronger." - Steve Maraboli
Today I'm a different person. My quest to seek knowledge, the will to go on, and divine support has changed my perspective of life. For me, challenges aren't bad luck or something to fear, or be ashamed of, anymore. Now I see them as blessings that bring personal growth in more ways than I could imagine. The feeling of being lost is there no more because I can feel the presence of a kind and loving force inside me. Silence has turned into solitude. I can hear HIS reassuring voice ... "Fear not. I am with you. I have your back. Do your best and leave the rest to me."
We're never burdened beyond our capacity. Whatever difficulty or hardship we're in, we're powerful enough to endure the pain. All we need to do is to have faith - faith in ourself, and faith in the Creatoin our, and a prayer in our heart; but we have been programmed to fear challenges - the opportunities that expand and grow our inner self. Our tests are meant to help us evolve into better human beings, mentally and spiritually. Instead of welcoming them, we have been taught to run away from them and enclose ourselves in our protective shells.
"Bad experiences make you stronger and wiser. They help you to appreciate the good times even more." - Unknown
"You can't control the wind, but you can adjust your sails." - Dolly Parton
"The only way out is through." - Robert Frost
Life is a war between fear and faith. Fears give birth to doubt and darkness within us and make us retreat to that environment. We lose our connection with the Universe; it's cues become coincidences for us.
Looking at the bigger picture helps us realise that nothing is a coincidence. We just need to have faith in the scheme of things.
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." - Frank Herbert
"Faith is a state of openness or trust." - Alan Wilson Watts
We reach that state of trust by contemplating on how well-formed and well-aligned life and nature is. Definitely everything and everyone has been created by the Higher Power for a higher purpose.
We've been raised to focus on just one dot of the drawing, i.e. the microcosm, not the whole picture, i.e., the macrocosm. Hence we end up feeling lonely, disassociated, and unsatisfied.
Life is the road to discovery, not disaster.
We are so scared of 'what might happen' that we end up making it happen. We create our own reality.
"There is no such thing as a negative experience. Only opportunities to grow and learn." - Eckhart Tolle
"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it." - Lena Horne
"The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it." - Molière
"Strength is not about how much you can handle, it's about how much you can overcome." - Arnold Schwarzenegger
We're tested in every way and manner; sometimes by being rewarded, sometimes by not being rewarded, and sometimes in a way that the reward, the blessing is taken back from us. After all, we're don't own anything. Every blessing has been entrusted to us by the Creator.
Hence, all of us come across barriers in life's journey. Those barriers are placed there in their specific positions for a purpose. That purpose is to refine us; to turn us into better human beings. The more obstacles there are in our life, the more opportunities we have to grow and blossom into magnificent flowers.
The Creator is not unjust. He sends us challenges, test, and trials keeping in view the potential He has blessed each and everyone of us, with. The greater and harder the trials, the greater potential we have to bear and tackle them, and the greater capacity we have to grow and unfold.
The secret to unleash our potential is to hold on to hope even in the worst of circumstances and not to succumb to our fears. If we keep going on then we reach that point where we find our frequency aligning itself with the higher vibes, with the tune of life or with the will of the Creator.
At that point everything starts to make sense because we are able to interpret the code of life and are synchronized with it. We find ourselves loving all its colours, even the dull ones. We are blessed with the aesthetic sense and the vision to see the beauty of life, appreciate it, and find our purpose in it.
Faith, patience, and endurance always help us grow stronger and become shady trees for the people around us.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life” - Steve Jobs.
"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." - Henry Ford
More Wisdom About Strength, Endurance, and Life's Challenges
- "Endurance is not just about bearing pain, it's about moving forward despite the pain." - Maxime Lagacé
- "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places." - Ernest Hemingway
- "Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller
- "The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
- "The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Abraham Lincoln
- "The only way to find the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible." - Arthur C. Clarke
- "Every experience, no matter how bad, has something positive to teach us." - Dalai Lama
- "There is a reason behind every experience, even the bad ones. The key is to learn from them and grow." - Oprah Winfrey
- "Bad experiences make you stronger and wiser. They help you to appreciate the good times even more." - Unknown
- "There is no such thing as a bad experience, only opportunities to learn and grow." - Mandy Hale
- "Every bad experience is a lesson. Learn from them and move on." - Steve Maraboli
- "There is a purpose behind every experience, good or bad. The trick is to find it." - Iyanla Vanzant
- "Sometimes, bad experiences are necessary to bring us closer to our dreams." - Paulo Coelho
- "Even the worst experiences can teach us something. We just have to be open to learning from them." - Sarah Jakes Roberts
- "There is always a reason for the bad things that happen to us. We may not always see it at the time, but eventually, we will." - Unknown
- "Bad experiences are like bumps in the road. They slow you down, but they also make you stronger." - Unknown
- "Every bad experience is a step towards your greatness. Don't let it defeat you. Learn from it and keep moving forward." - Unknown
- "The bad experiences in life are the ones that teach us the most. They help us to grow and become stronger." - Unknown
- "There is a reason for everything, even the bad things. Trust that the universe is working in your favor." - Unknown
- "Bad experiences help us to appreciate the good times even more." - Unknown
- "Every bad experience is a lesson learned. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. They are the stepping stones to success." - Unknown
- "There is no such thing as a failure. Only opportunities to learn and grow." - Henry Ford
- "Bad experiences can be a blessing in disguise. They can help us to find our strength and resilience." - Unknown
- "There is always something positive to be learned from a bad experience." - Unknown
- "Every bad experience is a chance to start over and do it better next time." - Unknown