A woman I know recently had a minor fender bender on her way to work. No one was hurt, and the car could be repaired. When I spoke to her that evening, she stated, with anger and frustration, “Everything was going so GOOD for me, and now THIS had to happen! I can NEVER catch a break.”
I was taken aback that she perceived this incident to somehow shatter her bubble of perfection. As if it had destroyed everything good in her life and was a testament to the fact that she was unlucky or subject to more than her share of challenges.
For starters, no one’s life is perfect or smooth regardless of wealth, life situation, or other external factors. If we have some misguided belief that our lives should be without challenges, major or minor, we will constantly be disappointed.
In reality, ‘stuff’ happens to all of us. And the longer we live, the more ‘stuff’ we’ll have to deal with, both large and small. Spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle says, “There are no problems in life, only situations that need to be dealt with. And there will ALWAYS be situations that need to be dealt with.” His inference is that these occurrences are simply a part of life and therefore are nothing more than another part of our existence, just like maintaining our automobile or paying our bills. Using this perspective removes the drama and angst often experienced when yet another “situation” presents itself. Try changing your approach the next time something comes up; rather than letting it get the best of you, stay steady and just deal with it.
