Problems: Getting What You Want
by JAREK CZECHOWICZ
You will not have whatever you want as long as you want it. You will have whatever you don't want as long as you don't want it. If you don't understand this then you will find it difficult to be grateful for what you have, which, unless you learn to see things differently, will be what you don't want. Read it again.
Obviously you have achieved certain goals and you might even have trophies and press clippings to prove it. Even the person with the most failures has achieved many things they wanted. If achieving your goals was truly fulfilling then you would have accumulated enough contentment by now to last a lifetime. Nevertheless we see many decent yet unfulfilled human beings asking, "Why can't anyone get what they want?" Then there are the few who say, "I got what I wanted". Here's how it happens..
The core of every stressful problem is fear which inevitably manifests as the desire to be in a better and more secure situation. The core of every solution is to flow as harmoniously as possible through the current situation, or away from it.
Flowing harmoniously through a problem might lead to new answers. Flowing away from it will might lead to different opportunities.
There are three broad levels to what you want. In material terms you want a particular thing or experience. In psychological or emotional terms you want whatever success represents: recognition, appreciation, acceptance, or evidence of competence. Spiritually you want to be one with love.
Unfortunately love is generally confused with pleasure and so goals often symbolise the capacity to attain pleasurable states. Anything perceived as preventing you from getting more pleasure or depriving you of pleasure is a seen as a problem and it begins to manifest as fear. Once it manifests as fear it expresses not only as fear but also as anger, hate, or any other negative emotion.
A negative emotion is a warning signal that you are going out of harmony with love.
There is no clear cut point at which harmony turns into dissonance because each person will perceive things differently. What is harmonious to one is dissonant to another. The key is to be aware of signals from your body, your emotions, your reason, and your intuition. As with anything in life a certain degree of knowledge and skill is required to navigate with or against the current. Ignorance is not always bliss.
Hear your inner guide, the quiet voice that is clear but often ignored. If you look closely you can see that problems that arose gradually were made known to you earlier by your inner guide. There were early signs that you never noticed.
You always receive divine guidance. Do you listen to it?
Every problem you have is a call to your creativity. If you can't respond spontaeously then ask yourself the question: "Is this something I can solve or do I let it go?" Nothing stifles creativity like repeating the tired old mantra of the complainer. Complaining is like repeatedly tripping over the same snag, yet never removing or avoiding it.
A creative solution is always about positive change. To create is to grow. Use an uplifting mantra or melody to accompany your creativity if it helps, or silence if you prefer. Create a new set of words to describe your situation. Re-interpret your problem until it reveals a new opportunity. Design a new set of actions to break unproductive old habits. When exploring new possibilities you might find yourself down a dead end, which is fine if that's where you are awakened. If not then get out of there and move on.
Any problematic situation has numerous characteristics. Identify the ones that are sticky. Which ones do you keep focusing on? Re-focus your attention until you notice the things you keep overlooking, and avoid the ones you keep tripping over. Ultimately there is only one thing to notice, and then the rest falls into place. In the meantime be creative and let go.
Finding a solution is like looking for misplaced keys. For example, you can't find your keys because you forgot that you bought a new key ring. So your mind is looking for a certain shape but it's the wrong shape. Your friend, who is not looking in the same way as you, wants to help you and quickly sees the keys. That's beginners' mind.
Let's look at it again. First there is the thing you want, your keys. You want them but you don't have them. Second is the thing you have, the annoying search for your keys. You don't want it but you have it. Then there is the thing that keeps you lost, your incorrect idea about the solution based on a fixed idea. While in this state of annoyance you are oblivious to all your many blessings.
Finally your friend hands you your keys and you have achieved your goal. But are you happy? Is there a lasting contentment? No, you're still upset because now you're late for your appointment. Here we go again.
Be like the friend who found your keys: have an mind free of fixed ideas, then think creatively about what service you can provide for others. Now you are opening the door to receiving what you need.
Peace