I want to talk  about the concept of opportunities and seeing the opportunities in what ever is occurring in your life. Whether things are going well or if things appear difficult there is always something in there that shows you more of yourself.  Chopra says that “Contained within every perceived problem is an opportunity for a greater benefit” if you are willing to let it show itself.

If you think about it, every so called problem can be handled or viewed in many different ways.  A problem can either spark the fire of fear or creativity.  We can shut it down by resisting it and hoping it will go away, which it won’t or we can go about solving it the way we have always solved problems, which is limited and typically causes more problems.  Both of those are reactions to the problem and both come from fear.

When we come from the creative aspect we are not reacting but allowing.  We can actually be with the problem and let it show us what we need to know while we are seeing ourselves on the other side of it after it has been completely taken care of.

In the last scenario several things happen simultaneously.  You acknowledge the problem or issue and feel the discomfort of it.  You decide what your desired outcome is, you visualize it and get the feeling of it and you detach from how it is going to happen.  You let go and let the creativity of the universe do the work while you just simply feel  yourself at the end, after it has all been handled with grace and ease.  You keep visualizing and feeling the end result and detaching from how it will happen.  You must know that divine wisdom will take over and bring it to pass.

Meanwhile, in its present state you have a jewel sitting in front of you disguised as a problem waiting to reveal important information about you. You would not have created it unless there is something in it for you.  There is always an agreement so let’s take a look.  As you sit with it notice the places in your body that feel uncomfortable and try to give a name to that feeling.  Most likely it is fear but it can be lack, doubt, judgment, anger, sadness, regret, guilt any number of things.  Sit with it and if you cannot come up with a name, ask your body to tell you. What sparks in your body will most likely have a connection to a memory that will help you identify it.  Once you name the energy you are the master of it because it is no longer a mystery and it no longer has power over you.  Once you know what the present situation lights up in you the emotional charge releases and you can start to work on it in a more neutral and constructive way.  You see it for what it is.  Which is NOT YOU.  Prior to looking at it in this detached way you owned it and it felt like it was you, but naming it showed you it was not.  Fear, guilt, lack, and anything else that tells you that you are less than limitless Divinity are lies.  So by looking at this you come back into contact with your center of consciousness, your power and your truth.  You can see and feel your end result and know that it is being handled.

It’s like having to assemble something that you ordered and when you open the box it is in a million pieces and the task looks impossible and you feel frustrated and overwhelmed. But then you find the directions.  Once you have the directions you assemble it piece by piece, A B C.  The slight frustration and overwhelm you felt when you first opened the box melts away and now you are on top of the project simply getting it done.

That was an example of looking for the opportunity in a problem but what if we start to look for the opportunities in the every day things that we do.  Everything shows us something if we want to look.

My best current example of this is the change of seasons.  Autumn has always been a time of renewal for me.  I love the cooler weather and the changing colors as nature prepares for winter. There is something exciting in the air.  I guess I really love change.  I always enjoy the ritual of putting away summer clothes and bringing out the richer warmer fall and winter ones.  Changing little things in the house like exchanging the summer tablecloth for the earthy red one and hanging darker richer colored towels.  I call These rituals because I have done them all of my life I love them. These rituals like holiday rituals bring back memories and many times they become opportunities to heal things that have occurred in the past.  They take me back to happy times and not so happy times.

Shifting into a new season brings back memories of past autumns and winters and what was happening in my life at those times.  What was I doing who was I seeing.  I can really get lost in these small life reviews.  I have been taken down the road of thinking that maybe I could have taken a more main stream path or made “better” choices as far as relationships and jobs went.  And the whole time I was revisiting the past twinges of guilt and self judgment were expressing in my body giving me the opportunity to address them.

Now the truth is, that something different wasn’t my path and my life, as it is, is the evidence of that. The end result of my choices is ME, right now and I have no regrets.  But this is a wonderful opportunity to look at the past me with the eyes of love and forgiveness and make peace with her.

Stuart Wilde says that we go through lifetimes in our lifetime, which is true because we are constantly evolving.

If YOU look at past relationships, jobs or friendships from this perspective each one had its own lifetime and all of them contributed to your evolution.

In my life, I can look at a relationship for example, and relate it to the seasons.   I can remember the beginning which was full of promise which relates to the springtime, then it evolved into a stronger commitment and growth, which relates to summer, then the falling away of the commitment or autumn and finally the end, death, or winter.  Winter was the time of metabolizing the experience.  This was time spent with my self, working through judgment, blame, guilt and forgiveness.  That was a process, gritty and real but it brought about closure and the courage to take another risk.

Every person and every situation that has ever been in my life has been there to show myself to me.  Everyone is a teacher.  Everyone is a mirror and what I like or dislike in them is what I like or dislike in myself. Springtime always returned bringing another opportunity to start again, feeling like a different human being having grown from the lessons of the previous experience.

As difficult as some of those times were they are worth their weight in gold because they were opportunities to look at my life, to pull in, and figure out who I was and what I really wanted.  They were opportunities to stretch, and be uncomfortable and wait to see what new adventure would arise out of the discomfort.  One of the biggest things was to realize that this too shall pass.  And at the center of my being is my truth and my power.

Change and our response to it is the dance of life.  It is to be embraced not resisted.  Change is constant, growth is a choice. There is no safety or security that comes from the outside.  Our security comes from knowing who we are, our oneness with Spirit.  And knowing that what ever is happening will change because we will change as a result of it. If we can just allow it, a far wiser, more creative and benevolent energy always moves on our behalf.  And that we can count on.

Whether it is a memory that draws you back into the past or an issue that is right in your face right now it is all information and the opportunity to know and reaffirm that it is not truth and it is not you and that dwelling within you and expressing through you is limitless strength and all you have to do is align with it and know that you are entitled to the best possible outcome and then begin dwelling from that outcome.

There is a lovely quote from Deepak Chopra that says

“We are all verbs. God is the only noun”.