1 – The Beginning
Life can follow a certain path for many years, until change occurs. Resistance is often accompanied with change, especially when suffering is involved. Our automatic response is to resist any kind of misery or hardship. But, as Carl Jung taught us, “What we resist persists”. It took me a while to figure that one out.
In time, the challenges we face today eventually pass with time. They are temporary, like clouds drifting across the sky. Eckhart Tolle phrased it perfectly with his quote:
“You are the sky. The clouds are what happens, what comes and goes”.
Well, clouds covered my sky for a good five years. It was dark, heavy and ominous with endless rain. I never thought I would ever heal.
Before my life changing event, I was married 16 years with two kids. I had checked off life’s major milestones: went to university, got married, started a career, bought a house and had kids. While I was content, I wasn’t truly happy. I figured that was normal. I mean, who is truly happy? Mostly, I felt fortunate. Fortunate to be living in a free democratic country, to be in good health, and to have friends and family who loved me. The one thing I lacked was a secure and loving sense of self. I didn’t know that I was lacking it until my life fell apart.
Having survived and come out the other side of my life event, I have leaned that a well-attuned sense of self is key to attaining happiness.
Unfortunately, change is inevitable. On the bright side, change forces us to reflect inward. Through self-examination and self-awareness we are provided with opportunities for growth. I would like to share my experience, through the challenges and the progress, starting from the beginning.
