Some days calmness, serenity and tranquility will be experienced. Some other days, the mind will be rushing thoughts in a non-stop way, stressing our lives and watering the soil for making mistakes… When there is change in life, "normal" people react: cry, laugh, feel sad, feel elated. Spiritual individuals on the other hand, understand and move on with the direction of the wind.
The difference as we progress is that those episodes of feeling hopeless despite knowing better, will diminish as we ride along in life.
Stability of the self is "work in progress."
This is a very important realization because there is the sense of feeling guilty if something does not "happen" the way it "ought to be," that is despite my "efforts" to change this or that in me, despite yesterday's experience of feeling calm and easy, today; it seems like everything went down the drain…
The "illusion" is to believe that spirituality is a straight path going "up."
As long as there is awareness of what is going on in life, "training" will occur.
Sometimes we could feel as if barely making it through the day; our vision then will be on finding lots of difficulty on maintaining a pleasant self with ourselves and others.
Nevertheless, if we see this by changing our vision; as for instance, "an athlete being trained in the competition of life;" we will realize that "reaching our limits," is what training is supposed to do, so we can go over those limits according to our capacity.
We will know about our limits by "going down," so we can make that space to recuperate and jump back it again with greater strength.
The "ups and downs" in life are the same. Going up means to have been able to go over a previous limit. Going down means the space to rebuild the self and to use that momentum to climb up again.
It is a roller coaster.
If we hide inside the little wagon at the top, hoping that we will not go "down," it means that we are repressing ourselves in the experience of living life. The wagon will go down just to go up again.
When we make a "trauma" out of the experience of going down in life, there will be pain and fear. Going down is only the momentum needed to go up again.
Children are the ones who could enjoy this experience fully. A grown up, is usually busy remembering what has happened, pointing fingers to blame to others, fearful that the future will bring the same "dreadful episode" again.
The roller coaster of life is a ride. Our vision could make that ride enjoyable, free and unencumbered or just a fearful experience. Our vision changes our attitude towards life.
Going up and going down. Duality.
If we go up, we need to come down.
If we don't come down, we cannot go up.
If we stay in one place, we stagnate.
If we are afraid of going down, we will be afraid when going up.
If we enjoy the experience of the roller coaster and take that in a wholesome way… we live life free of fear!