“An experience can’t be happy, eternally. We are bipolar beings. When there’s happiness, there’s automatically sorrow. If we were purely happy all the time, it would get so damn monotonous we’d wish for some sorrow or problem to overcome, just for the sake of a challenge.” (Richard Rose)
And so why is it that we give such bad press to difficult situations and experiences in our lives? If it weren’t for the downs, how would we know when we are up? It is because of sadness that we can truly appreciate joy.
And as I’ve mentioned before, it is from the challenges and difficulties that we grow and learn, not from the times of ease. So why do we give hard times such a bad rap?
I like G.K. Chesterton’s point of view, “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.” Basically it all comes down to our attitude and our perspective (this might sound familiar to my regular readers).
What if you view life as a roller coaster ride that you are on for the thrill and sheer fun of it? I imagine very few of you would enjoy the ride if it just coasted along flatly for the entire ride — boring! Instead, you’d prefer some ups and downs, some highs and lows, some turns and change of scenery to create contrast and new experiences — now that’s fun!
Consider that the ups and downs of your life are the two sides of a coin….you can’t have one without the other. In fact, they belong together, they work best when paired up. It’s the cycle of life: periods of ease, periods of difficulty, periods of ebb, periods of flow, and periods of everything in between.
So, what would happen if you just let go of your desire to control life, to manage it, to always have “good times”? The answer is you would begin to know peace.
Robert Brault’s optimistic view says it nicely, “Either way, things are a lot better — either a lot better than they were or a lot better than they’re going to be.”
So embrace the bipolarism of life…see it for the thrilling ride that it can be. Know that life includes the scary downs, as well as the exciting ups, and every humdrum place in between.
How have you embraced this ride called life?
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In a book called, “Love Without End”–Jesus speaks of how he was here to blow up any good or really bad situation in your life –so that you are pushed beyond that to the Truth –without that level (Truth) –we seem to identify too much with either the good or the bad. My 1 cent contribution.
Mark,
Yes, I agree. As we become more conscious, the ideal is to be able to see beyond the duality of life — to have a bigger perspective. To live in duality, but to see the “Truth” that is greater/bigger than duality.
For most people though, they are living fully within the duality of life; therefore, it is helpful to learn to accept it, instead of fighting or objecting to it. And acceptance is one of the many paths to becoming more conscious.
Thanks so much for your insights — they always contribute more to the discussion!
Elise