The Universe is on my side, and it is on yours too, though it might not seems this way sometimes – when things in our lives seem to go “wrong”, when we don’t get our way, when one “bad” thing after another befalls us. Despite our thoughts and feelings about what unfolds in our lives, the Universe is there for us.
You might be asking yourself, “If that is the case, then why do terrible things happen to me, to the people I love, and to others in the world?” A couple of things cause people who are going through rough patches, or maybe even normal patches, to feel that everyone and everything are against them. One is our judgment about situations and the second is our resistance to the Universe’s, sometimes subtle, sometimes in your face, guidance.
First, when we judge things in our lives as bad or wrong for us we can’t see how these situations will work for us. We can’t see the clouds’ silver linings. We can become angry or resistant or hopeless and give up. Either set of feelings and ensuing reactions blocks our vision to see a path forward, a path that along the trail has a bounty of things to help us experience a more stress-free and fulfilling life. If we can’t see the path we certainly can’t follow it.
Second, when we judge or deem something wrong or bad for us, we resist it, push against it. We attempt to fix it by trying to get the opposite thing to happen, usually in the most obvious, least productive way. Causing us again to be blinded to a much easier path forward created ironically by our apparent misfortune; more struggle and “hardship” follow.
I used to push hard against what was occurring in my life when things didn’t seem to be going right, when I was not getting what I needed or wanted, when things weren’t happening fast enough. The result was frustration, exhaustion, and struggle. The opposite of what I wanted in my life.
Now when I start to feel things aren’t going the way I want them to, when I’m feeling tired and frustrated or annoyed by my lack of results, I ask myself the question: what am I failing to notice here? This makes me stop doing what I am doing, forces me to stop pushing for what I want. This question stops my resistance to what is and allows me to be in the situation, to consider what the message is and how what’s happened could actually help me move in the direction that really is most suitable for me at present. It helps me see options and lessens my attachment to my way and to my desired outcome, reducing stress in the process.
The “What am I failing to notice here?” question is a great way to detach from and shift your viewpoint. The key is to be in tune with your feelings of anxiety, frustration, annoyance, or irritation so that you know when to ask yourself the question. The sooner you recognize these feelings, the sooner you can stop, assess, and get relief from the stress that resistance creates.
The universe is on my side, and it is on yours too. We simply have to recognize this. We simply have to ask ourselves, “What am I failing to notice here?” and allow ourselves to see it.
Photo Credit: Matt Quinn