Life Is Hard

Life Is Hard

How easy can you allow it to be today? Go ahead, let your guard down.

Many of us have been programmed to think that life is a struggle. We have heard the quotes, “No pain, no gain,” and “Life is hard then you die.”

Unfortunately, this outlook radically impacts how many of us live our lives. We walk around with a sense of pending doom, bracing ourselves for the next hardship or fight. If you aren’t careful, you can become cynical and see bad even in the good.

This weekend I had the good fortune of going to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl as a guest. The tickets were free, the parking complimentary, the food was good and the early evening air cool and refreshing. It was a little slice of heaven.

And then it happened.

The friend of mine who works at the Bowl and had “hooked me up” with all the goodies, walked to my box with a serious look on his face and asked if we minded moving. You see, something had happened and we needed to move now!

Oh crap. I loved the seats…my friends loved them too. As we got up I expected to be redirected to the nose bleed section. I mean, stuff like this happens to me all the time!

You can imagine my surprise when my friend directed my party and me down towards the stage. We went down the second level of box seats, then the closest level of box seats, and finally ended up in the box seats right in front of the stage!

My first reaction was elation…and then embarrassment. Why had I gone so quickly to a negative place when my friend asked if we could move? Why did my mind go instantly to the bad possibility?

Fortunately, I was reminded that surprises can be good, that the unexpected can turn a lovely evening into an extraordinary one.

This week, instead of expecting the words, as we so often so, just sit back, relax, and see how it unfolds. As Forrest Gump said, “You never know what you’re gonna get.”

Stress Release Tip

Sometimes it seems that nothing is going right. You spill coffee on your new outfit, the car won’t start, late for an important meeting, blah, blah, blah. As bad as those moments may seem, it is important to have perspective. The reality is that there is more that is working for us than against us. Work on magnifying the positive. Think of the areas where you are blessed and where you have experienced good fortune. Breathe into THAT! Trust that more is coming. This momentary stressful moment will soon pass.

Mindful Moment

Much of our stress comes from resistance. We hold strong ideas and expectations of how we want things to be and when things don’t turn out the way we want, we stress big time. The Universe is mysterious and we can never fully understand how things come to be. Play with trusting and believing that the Universe is a friendly place that works for you. Be open to having your needs and dreams met in unexpected ways.

Quote From Jon

“To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease, and lightness.”
– Eckhart Tolle

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