The Gift of Darkness

Yes, years. Having been raised in a macro environment in which when “bad” things happen the standard response is that the sky is falling, I was so used to that “woe is me” attitude. I honestly don’t think I ever adopted it since I’ve always been naturally positive, adaptable, and resilient. But I heard that type of reaction all the time and still do. The kind of thinking that we are being punished. Never a dull moment, Debbie Downer, bad stuff always happens to good people etc. Not to ever minimize pain, challenges, suffering, or difficulty, but I firmly believe the dharma gives us what we need. If you are a regular reader then you know I have unwavering faith, and that I see challenges and pain as purposeful. I can say with certainty that the smelliest piles of shit I had to crawl out of led to my greatest learnings and accomplishments. I am not referring to any kind of abuse, death, or anything comparable. However, I have heard many times that illness can be an incredible gift for many reasons. I’m talking about the more common hard stuff that can range from inconvenient to excruciatingly painful, and everything in between. Denial is one of the worst self inflicted diseases; I’m never suggesting we sugar coat our hardships. That does us great harm and often harms those around us. What I mean in seeing dark times as gifts is really pausing, breathing, examining, and being honest and humble enough to partner with Source and ask, what is this meant to teach me? Only you can answer this for yourself. What are you experiencing right now that feels dark, and are you able to begin to see it as a gift? It’s ok if you can’t. Gratitude and perspective aren’t always available. But keep this inquiry active in your mind. The more you ask it, the more the answers, lessons, and gifts will reveal themselves. This is how we retrain our minds. The power to choose our thoughts is a life changing skill.