Whoever said “Life happens” was truly in alignment with spiritual law. Events are happening all day long and we just happen to be in the middle of them. Things are not happening “to” us. They are merely happening and we happen to be within that experience.
There is a lot of common sense in the general rule of being a fire. Stop, Drop and Roll is what we are taught. We often live our life in a “fire” emergency situation. So let’s apply the fire rules of Stop, Drop and Roll to our first lesson of Mastery.
STOP
Something happens. You respond in one way or another – positive or negative. You are choosing your response. Your story about the event begins. Whatever injustice you have incurred, you have a story about it. Judgment comes in. Your story gets larger. Eventually, you are in the middle of the movie of your life and you win an Oscar for your dramatic performance.
Notice when you are caught in your story…and everything is a story.
Your story of the event can become your abuser. Imagine if I came to your front door and told you I had a knife and gun and was going to kill you. You would shut the door, lock it and call for help. However, when a story comes into your head, you invite it in, give it a cup of coffee and invite it to stay awhile in the spare room behind your right ear! Your story becomes the abuser, just as the person at your door is an abuser. Catch yourself in the story and STOP.
DROP
Drop the story and drop the judgment of the situation. Stuff happens. It’s human. Feel what you need to feel for a moment. Notice what emotion it brings up. What past event does that emotion remind you of? Have you been here before? Is this situation similar to any other experiences in your life?
Give yourself a break. Honor what you are feeling and move on.
ROLL
Expectations often get in the way of moving forward from our story. If we are expecting others to behave a certain way and they don’t, our story begins. If a situation doesn’t turn out the way we expected it to, our story begins. Roll with reality and see what is really happening. If you didn’t get the promotion, you didn’t need it. If the relationship you wanted to move forward didn’t work out, something better will come. If you are feeling lack of money in your life, you have exactly the amount you need at the moment. Be in the moment and explore what is true.
Give yourself a mantra to say once you have found the reality. Here’s one:
“I may not be where I want to be, but I am a lot further along than I used to be.”
or
“Of course everyone loves me. They just don’t know it yet.”
The abuser will no longer have power over you…not that it really did anyway!
Keep these three simple steps in mind and you are on your way to Mastery of the Human Experience!
I liked the paragraph: “If you didn’t get the promotion, you didn’t need it. If the relationship you wanted to move forward didn’t work out, something better will come. If you are feeling lack of money in your life, you have exactly the amount you need at the moment. Be in the moment and explore what is true.”
I think one of the greatest gifts we can give each other is to BELIEVE that all is working for our good, even that which seems at the moment so disappointing.
Thanks for a great reminder.