Chaos

A fact of life is that it is not an easy ride. Things never go according to plan, never being what we wish it to be, and never leaving us with a total security because deep down we know that at any time we may lose our health, our loved ones, our money, our possessions, our reputation, our jobs, and anything else we want to call our own.

Generally, we bob along the bumpy road. At times, it’s a smooth ride as we whiz down the highway, but other times, we feel we would never start the car again. There are times when we are engulfed in chaos, when nothing seems to go right and problems seem to overwhelm us one after another. In those times, we often throw up our hands and shout to the heavens to stop the barrage because we don’t know when we won’t be able to dodge any more bullets.

Yet, like a soldier in battle surrounded by the enemy, we can choose to surrender or to battle on. In the darkest times in our life, we are often worn from having to deal with the endless stream of difficulties that come our way, and we may drown in a sense of hopelessness. Winning the battle seems like an illusion that would never happen; merely surviving is our immediate concern.

The greatest war stories are those who fought in the face of the enemy and in the face of death. These soldiers cast from their minds the fear that paralyses them, the doubt that entraps them and the lethargy that comes with hopelessness.

Most of the problems we face aren’t life and death situations, but they carry with it the feeling as if they are and we are similarly paralysed by fear, doubt, lethargy, hopelessness, anxiety and stress.

But if we understand the nature of the chaos in our life, it is simply life not going accordingly to how we want it to go. We feel that life does not fit into our demands of how it should be.

If you feel this is happening in your life right now, then this week’s practice is catered for you.

The practice for this week is to stop trying to change life to fit in with you, but change yourself to fit in with life. Look into the habits of your life and your mind – is there a comfort zone you are stuck in that you do not want to move out of? Is there a habit or view that you don’t want to let go of? Is there a way for you to use this chaos to take a leap into the unknown? See chaos not as the ‘enemy’ or the ‘problem’, but simply life’s call to you to take that leap out of your comfort zone (physically and mentally) and make the change in your life for the better.

This article has been published as part of the Metta Legal Client Wellbeing Series. You can access that article here: http://www.mettalegal.com/help-with-family-chaos-problems/