This is one word that will not go away in my experience. It is a word that I hear all the time, from those that have not reached their goals, and from those that have. It's just a word-but it expresses a deeply held thought about what it is we are experiencing. It can easily be changed to any other word such as fun, excitement, adventure or something else. The word itself is meaningless-it is the thought that chooses the word, because we think something is a struggle-we choose to use the word to express our feelings about a thing. What makes it a struggle-what causes us to say "I am struggling to survive" instead of I am working to survive? Even when we are walking the path that we have chosen, and are aware of any difficulties that will come up-we consider it a struggle if we are not moving forward. At the time we may have considered it a challenge, but when we relate the experience to others we often choose the word struggle to imply a difficult process. Struggle is really just another name for challenge-the difference is that a challenge can be overcome-a struggle goes on indefinitely. If life is a challenge-it is something that can be overcome-does life have to be overcome? If it is a struggle-it is something to be endured. Let's say for weeks we have been planning a trip into the country with friends-we are all hyped up about the experience, and are ready for it no matter what comes our way. There are five of us-now heading into the country in an old van that has a tendency to break down on occasion and requires a little push to get it started again. Because we are on an adventure-it is fun pushing the van a short distance, and getting the thing running. We are continuously moving forward to our destination, and we have the image of the next week hanging like a carrot in front of us-each one urging the other on. This is fun, exciting, and adventurous-it could never be considered a struggle. On the other hand when we are knee deep in alligators, and we see no way out-we consider it a struggle to stay alive. Even when we have achieved our goals in the physical life-most of us will look back and wonder why-if we do not see the whole experience or adventure as moving forward. So the difference in the thought process that leads us to believe that life is a struggle, may be that we see no future, and that life must be endured. For those of us that can see beyond life-the experiences are just that-experiences. We can call a disabled person-challenged, but if he feels handicapped-that is what he will be. It's not in the name-but in the feelings that we have about what we do or who we are. So then it's not really about going anywhere or having a future or destination-it is about how we are feeling in the moment. I am semi retired. I work at a day job for four or fives hours a day. I have few expenses, and most of the things that I desire. My needs are always taken care off, and I have managed to save a small amount. It hasn't always been this way, and I have struggled to get here. I have studied spiritualism for years, and I am confident about my new awareness, and where it is leading. I can clearly see that my life has been a series of steps that has brought me to this place that I am now enjoying-still I struggle. I struggled to start this article, and it is continuous throughout its creation. I have never started an article that I could not finish-so I have a 100% finishing rate. I have a very good record, so why am I struggling, what kind of fear am I living-I know I will finish. It is the weekend, and I am living in the anticipation of going out for breakfast after I finish this article. The article is a step towards the one thing that I enjoy the most on weekends. Because I am living in the future, what I am doing now has become a struggle, an effort, and an obligation. My future looks bright, enjoyable, and deserving-I am not focused on the purpose of this writing-the very reason why I chose to do it-I am not in the moment. When I have finished writing, I will feel relieved, accomplished, gratified and happy that the struggle is over. I will have set myself up for a really great, relaxing, and well deserved breakfast at my favourite restaurant. I will have also set myself up for disaster. Because I have lived in the future during my struggle to get there-I may find many disappointments, and circumstances that do not fit into the image I have been savouring. Not only have I struggled to get here, I will struggle to maintain the image I have of the breakfast experience. So, struggle comes when I do not live in the moment, and choose to enjoy or accept the experience as something that is positive and timeless. If I understand that this is the only moment that counts, and it has the most meaning-then it should not be a struggle, but an all encompassing experience. Struggle comes when I do not live in the eternal moment of now-when I am focused in the future. Every moment is the last moment, and it is always a choice. Every choice has its own experience, and if one accepts responsibility for that choice-it can never be a struggle but an opportunity that leads nowhere. Life is experienced in the moment-it is an eternal moment that lasts forever-there is no other moment. So, life is a series of moments-a series of lifetimes added together. The struggle is experienced when you try to put them all together from a position of being outside the experience. |
