You know when something goes wrong or things just aren’t working out…
I’ve found that, rather than fight a problem, make excuses, or blame others…
I wonder, “What is the lesson to learn?”
What is MY lesson to learn here?
So, rather than continue struggling (doing the same thing… over and over…),
how might I respond to a situation like this?
What if the problem was ME?
For now, let’s say, “Yes.”
Ok, how can I become a student of my situation?
I’ll illustrate with a simple example by way of a true story of when I was speeding on Highway 280 in Northern California.
Seeing the flashing red lights in my mirror one night was a shock… I was speeding.
But, why get busted now?
Nevertheless, I figured that I had about two minutes between now and when the highway patrolman would walk up…
No time to freak out, make up an excuse, become righteously indignant…
All, usually, a waste of critical time.
In that two minutes, I perceived that this was a fairly loud message from the Universe.
And, if I didn’t learn from this lesson, the next lesson would be louder, perhaps more painful and likely more expensive.
Ergo, this is a learning moment… (Albeit an emergency learning moment.)
What’s the lesson I need to get right now so the Universe doesn’t need to escalate this message any further?
Two minutes…
Before the CHP officer is at my window asking the proverbial question:
“Do you know why I pulled you over?”
OK, why did he pull me over?
Because I was speeding.
Why was I speeding?
Because I was late.
Why was I late?
Because I was procrastinating leaving.
Why was I procrastinating leaving?
I didn’t really want to go.
Why was I going?
Because I told a friend I would.
Why did I tell my friend that I would go?
I didn’t want to disappoint them in the moment.
Ugh! WTF?
Two minutes are up…
The CHP officer is now at my window:
“Do you know why I pulled you over?”
These guys have heard it all, so why BS him, besides I knew why he was there…
“Yes, I was going 80 miles an hour. And I’ve learned something…”
Oddly enough, in my moment of new enlightenment, I replayed the above analysis to him.
One aspect of this lesson here is to be ruthlessly honest in the moment
with yourself as well as the person when you choose whether or not to make the agreement!
I had “wimped-out” in that moment, accepting my friend’s invitation.
And look at how I compensated for it and the trouble it caused.
That’ll never happen again.
If anything, I deserved a ticket for my deeper unconsciousness (stupidity).
I told the officer that too.
I believed it and, apparently, he did too.
He gave me back my license and registration with a,
“Sounds like you learned your lesson, drive carefully.”
Whew!
“Thank you very much!” I replied.
What worked here, I believe, is my complete authenticity in and with the situation.
My sincere interest in discovering the lesson and expanding-to-include it in my life.
Also my respect for the CHP officer as a person and as my personal messenger from the Universe.
He wasn’t there to ‘hassle’ me, he was sent as the louder message from the Universe.
For the get-out-of-jail-free card to work, you must truly get to the bottom of the Lesson YOU need to Learn.
Demonstrate that you got the message this time and won’t need to be warned again.
(As a Pastor once told me, “You can’t BS God.”)
This wasn’t really about speeding, it was about giving up my power when making an agreement I didn’t want to keep.
If I ignore this lesson, it will get louder.
This was but one of many times I’ve “gotten the message,” and learned from it,
because in the past, I have observed how the messages have escalated until I got them.
Another, more important lesson within this lesson…
It’s the idea that if and when you’re in a situation where things are going wrong or they’ve been
chronically unsatisfactory for some time that perhaps you are in a situation akin to my speeding situation…
perhaps… there’s a lesson in it for you.
When things aren’t going right, before you try to solve it, acknowledge that there’s a possibility
that there’s a lesson in this situation that the Universe wants you to learn.
You cannot “Pass GO and Collect $200” if/when the Universe is creating a situation for you to learn a lesson.
There’s no one to blame, no excuses needed, nothing to explain.
(Few people actually want to listen to any of that drama BS anyway..)
It’s all you.
Anyway…
There must be a lesson to learn here. What is it?
You may not be able to come up with the answer right away but as you start solving it,
think of every action you take, every thought you have is like a Zen master or martial artist
studying each move, considering how it contributes to the whole.
“Wax on. Wax off.” (~ Karate Kid)
What’s your problem, what is not working they way you want it to?
Why is this happening to you now?
Regardless of who else is involved or other circumstances…
What might the Universe want you to learn in this situation?
Get to the bottom of it and it might just go away as fast as a speeding ticket.
