Some of the challenges we face in life can be so overwhelming that we might feel completely powerless, hopeless, and despairing. In these times, we need more faith and optimism than ever – and yet it is then that it is the hardest to maintain it. While we might feel a variety of emotions, from grief to rage, we can also maintain our sense of faith and commitment to the light within. In this way, we remain resilient, loving and empowered. If you wonder how it is possible to maintain any bit of faith and light as you navigate difficult challenges, here are some thoughts to help you along the way.
Your circumstances are temporary
It may not feel this way now, but they are. As time goes on, it will become evident. Even if external events do not shift, how you feel about them and how you view them will change with time. Reality will have a new flavor.
New possibilities will enter your life that will make current circumstances feel smaller or less important. The circumstances might change entirely. Surprising changes can and will occur it ways that today will seem unlikely. Life always moves forward.
Truly nothing is as resolved and as solidified as it might feel. If you have some faith, you will remain connected to the great wonder of this life and be surprised. Feel your emotions, but hold off on conclusions that point the way to despair, hopelessness, shame, blame, self-defeat and sabotage. Everything changes and you will rise up in a new way.
Not everything is up to you
When we face great challenges, we might feel like we are responsible for every bit of what occurs, including the actions, choices and emotions of other people. We tend to forget that we are not lords of everything, but beautiful light particles of a big Universe that takes care of all of us.
When those we love are going through great pain and challenges, we tend to judge what this means, what we should do, and how it should all work out. We take responsibility for them even when it is inappropriate. We hurt ourselves with thoughts about what we cannot actually change or about things that we do not truly understand.
At any given moment there are millions of permutations and shifts happening in the Universe, and you are not aware of all of them. The Universe is constantly working on our behalf. In all things, remember that there is much more happening in this beautiful Universe at any given moment than the thoughts swirling in our minds.
Dare to ask the Universe for help, and remember that others have their own journeys just like you do. It is not up to you to do everything. Accept what cannot be changed, and love yourself through your difficult emotions.
Your thoughts are not reality
When we are under the stress of a difficult challenge, our worst fears and nightmares awaken. Past traumatic experiences might begin to make themselves known in the form of anxiety, panic, depression, extreme sadness, hopelessness, despair or other emotions. Old behaviour patterns emerge, including addictions. With this, various thought patterns about our Selves, life and the world will come to surface with greater strength than usual. They can colour our inner landscape in very grim colors.
What makes the thoughts that emerge during these times very potent is our tendency to believe them and engage with them as realities. As these thoughts trigger difficult emotions, they can make the reality they suggest seem very potent because of the strong feeling associated with them.
Hold steady as the observer rather than the one who believes them. These thoughts may return often and they might trigger difficult emotions as well — the more you remind yourself that thoughts do not equal reality, the more you can steady yourself.
Find a mindfulness practice, and seek to heal these patterns. The blessing in these patterns emerging at times like these is that they give us a chance to heal them. Mindfulness practices and rewiring can help you shift these patterns for good.
Find an affirmation that helps you keep steady and remain the witness to all of it, rather than the player in a drama that does not exist.
Outlook and positivity matter
When events are challenging, our main concern tends to be to fix the situation. Everything that does not have the immediate effect of changing the external circumstances in the way we want, might seem superfluous and pointless. We might reject helpful ideas or solutions, or feel like it is best to hold on to our negative outlook of the situation because it is the one that reflects the current situation.
Yet what we focus on is precisely what tends to grow. Our ability to embrace new possibilities, remain hopeful, open and flexible can make the difference between a missed opportunity and a new dawn. We attract to us in accordance to our vibration.
Our inner work toward gratitude and a positive outlook can alter our reality. To see facts and circumstances as they are, we are not required to continuously reiterate negative thoughts and beliefs. We are not required to hold on to beliefs that are difficult and painful to bear such as: “I will never find someone else to love”; “who will love me at my age”; “nothing ever works for me.” Rather than conveying to us reality, these thoughts colour reality.
When we hold on to this kind of negative thoughts, we are blocking the path to more. Our minds are creatures of habit and automatism – the more we engage with this way of thinking, the more we commit to blocking the goodness that might want to come our way.
When we are facing challenges, our task is much the same as that of an apprentice – do our best and try to learn. Rather than pointing to the ways a potential solution may not work, consider everything with earnestness and interest. The most important factor in changing anything in your life is always YOU.
We are agents of change in our lives
At the other extreme, we might fall into a pattern of passivity. We might feel powerless and see ourselves as incapable of changing anything at all.
Before throwing in the towel, remind yourself that you can change circumstances through your actions – empower yourself with real research, evidence and support that you need. Sometimes these will point the way toward acceptance of something that cannot be changed. Other times, they will point the way to a real solution.
Sometimes we look for a miracle when all we need is a piece of legal advice or more understanding about an issue. Always be alert to the potential for solutions. With each positive hopeful intention, and step we take to improve, we tell the Universe we are ready and willing to embrace change.
You have what it takes, always!
It may not feel this way, but you have what it takes to emerge on the other side of it. Always. This is undoubtedly so, even if it may not feel this way. This does not mean that the outcome you hope for will necessarily materialise – it means that you have the ability to navigate through this challenge as needed.
The specific outcome you may seek may not be the highest outcome for you. We might wish that someone we love returns to us when they might be detrimental to our future. We might hope a certain job is ours when it might deviate us from something we truly love. Oftentimes, what seems like the worst outcome to us is the best outcome. Keep your faith regardless of what happens because there is good ahead for you.
You always have what you need to navigate your challenges. Letting go of something is as important as making something happen.
Our hearts matter the most
It is easy to lose faith and believe that without certain specific resources you cannot move forward or that others have greater power merely because they are willing to engage in devious games. But truly, the most important currency in the world is love. Being earnest, sincere, humble and loving is a greater power and protection than we are able to see in challenging times.
In any challenge, the greatest work we can do is to clear our hearts and remain as anchored as we can in our heart space. If we are able to also empower ourselves and bring in all our other qualities in play as well – smarts, strategy, research – we become unstoppable. Truly, someone with faith and love in their heart who bravely moves forward becomes a force of nature.
Faith is an act of love, light and strength. Sometimes as we are advancing on our paths, we might make profound soul decisions about shifts in our lives. This might necessitate the destruction, departure or change of something we cherish in our lives, or at least something we have long been accustomed to. At any moment, there is more happening in the depths of our souls than we might have the ability to understand. Just like a plane needs to travel through the turbulence sometimes to take us to our desired destination, we also might need to travel through very challenging times to reach our soul’s much-desired destination. Have faith in yourself always!