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Unless you're a math major, you probably don't enjoy problems. In fact, our egos consider personal problems to be an abomination---things we should readily avoid or resolve as quickly as possible, and possibly even a sign of loserdome. Difficulty is bad. Smooth sailing is good. Right?
From our limited 3-D perspective, most of us would agree with this, but from the higher perspective of growth and development, problems are one of the greatest learning tools available to us. In fact, I believe we came into these human bodies for the purpose of learning lessons though adversity. After all, if earth is a school, it is the School of Hard Knocks, and our souls love that. Why? Because nothing transforms us faster or more effectively than challenges.
Imagine, for example, that you are an eternal soul who wishes to learn about forgiveness. You think to yourself, "Gee, how can I best learn the meaning of forgiveness? I guess I could float around the universe for a couple eons and chat with other souls about forgiveness. I might eventually learn a thing or two from that. Or, I could put on my superhero pants and be born into a physical body where I experienced something traumatic. It might cause me to suffer and struggle for a while, but eventually I'd get tired of all that and find a way to forgive and move forward. Yep, that would that be an efficient way to learn. Within a few earth years, I'd know a lot about forgiveness."
This is exactly what I think we're doing here. We might think our problems and difficulties are unfair, or random (God forbid), but what if every difficulty we experienced was designed to help us learn and grow?
We all have problem areas, or what I think of as themes. For instance, we might have an easy time with career, finances, and health, but struggle terribly with relationships. Or maybe our relationships and work life are good, but we struggle with low self esteem or addictions. We all have a variety of problems throughout the course of our lives, but the chronic ones constitute the themes, and these themes point to our reason for being here. Problems may be aggravating, but they are the keys to our personal, as well as collective, evolution.
This week, I ask you to view your problems as golden learning opportunities, especially the big or longstanding ones. What are these difficulties trying to teach you? That life is unfair? I think not. Dig a little deeper, and I believe you'll find a more satisfying and helpful answer---one that points to a beautiful quality of being you're struggling to birth. Hang in there, and know that you will eventually succeed, and that the universe ultimately supports you, no matter how long your journey takes.
