Che cera cera

Why do we dwell so much on others thoughts or actions?  Is all the worry and anxiety really worth your time and energy?  Why would we do anything other than let it go?  Move along.  People will tell you that your situation is good or bad, and at first, it may appear that way.  But there is so much more that is yet to happen and every experience that we encounter in our lives is part of our journey.  

“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need?  Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.”

This is one of my favorite quotes from Eckhart Tolle.  Interestingly, it was in the midst of a particularly unpleasant situation in my life that I came across Tolle’s quote.  It was almost as if the Universe was speaking directly to me “Holly, here’s what you need to know!”  If you’ve ever had something like that happen, you know what I mean.  It’s like an “Aha” moment.  Some might call this coincidence or serendipity.  I've also heard it referred to as a “God-wink.”  However you want to refer to it, this idea resonated with me.  Something bigger than what I could comprehend was winking at me.  While on some level I knew this to be true, this was not, at the time, an easy concept to embrace.  Anger, frustration, and disappointment are strong emotions.  The mind just loves to grab hold of these emotions and take you on a real trip.  Here is where the Ego rears its ugly head. It loves this stuff – feeds off of it in fact.  Conflict, drama, dwelling on our situations and driving ourselves into a deep hole of worry is what the mind and the Ego do best.  You are not creating those conflicts, those tense situations – your mind is.  You are not your mind and therefore you are not your problems.  There is no one who can tell you how to feel about the events or situations that arise in your life.  Except for you.  You alone have the choice to decide how to react to and deal with the experiences that come across your path.  Its as simple as taking a moment to step outside of your whirling thought-filled mind and just watch. Watch your mind, watch your thoughts.  Its like a parent watching his or her child complain about the drama on the playground at recess or the mean girls at school.  As the parent, you know these melodramas seem like the end of the world, but that in the long run, they don’t matter.  They are part of our life experiences.  For the most part, we look back on these things and laugh. From this view, you may even find yourself smiling at your “problems” now.  Observe how the other people involved are acting and reacting.  Are you worrying about their thoughts?  This is even more unnecessary than worrying about your own thoughts because their thoughts have nothing to do with you.  They've been made up in the minds of others!  Stepping outside of yourself so to speak, and observing all of this, gives you the insight of a third party.  Interestingly, that third party is you. The real you. 

Consider a time when you were faced with a difficult, unpleasant, or downright painful experience. How much sleep did you lose?  How weighted down did you feel?  How much ice cream did you feel you deserved?  We always talk about the mental and physical exhaustion that these situations cause.  So why not free yourself from that wasteful use of energy?  Che cera cera.  Allow whatever will be, to be.  Choose your happiness.