On overcoming obstacles..........

 

Sometimes, it may seem as if the easiest and best way to deal with difficult and challenging stuff,

 is to just put on a blindfold. "Out of sight, out of mind" so some say.

But is that true? Do difficulties and challenges go away if we don't see (acknowledge) them?

Put another way: If you had to run an obstacle course, would you prefer to do it with or without a blindfold?

Life, in my view, in many ways can be likened to an obstacle course: some obstacles one may have to go around, some climb over, some one may have to disassemble, some one may have to get past by finding a way under the obstacle, and some, one may have to find a way through.

(When wearing a blindfold; anticipating and finding solutions to overcoming the different obstacles; may prove very difficult.)

Some "obstacles" are common to most of us: health issues, things not going the way we planned, people not behaving the way we anticipated, nature not behaving the way we anticipated, accidents, acquiring enough money to live the way we want to, finding our way through the loss of people we love, making difficult decisions, dealing with conflicts of different kinds, and so on.

Overcoming obstacles, may I suggest, is an important aspect of the "human condition". ("The human condition is defined as "the characteristics, key events, and situations which compose the essentials of human existence, such as birth, growth, emotionality, aspiration, conflict, and mortality." Wikipedia)

To overcome an obstacle, perhaps a good starting point is to learn as much as possible about the obstacle. Ex: "I don't seem to be able to pull myself out of this blue/sad mood I'm in."

Possible approach: when did it begin, did something in particular happen, have I experienced this before, do I know someone who has experienced this before, can I find some information perhaps that can help me understand this, is this a common experience, and if so, are there others that may be able to help me through this? etc.etc..

Overcoming an obstacle while wearing a "blindfold", can be both confusing and frustrating: a blindfolded Teddy runs into a wall. Since he is blindfolded, he has no idea how high it is, how extensive it is, what it is made of, or if it perhaps has an opening he can use. If he, on the other hand removed his blindfold, he would quickly be able to answer all the questions and ascertain his options of overcoming the obstacle.

Difficulties and or challenges, whether we "see" them or not, have a tendency to pop up in most lives.

Parents will eventually die, children will leave home, accidents will happen, love will be found and lost, ageing will take place, wars will be fought, disappointments will take place, etc.etc.

Wearing a blindfold will unfortunately not prevent these things from happening.

In my view, with every obstacle we face eyes wide open, lies the potential for us to grow, to learn more about ourselves, to discover strengths we may not even have known we possessed, and to expand our capacity for compassion, love and understanding.

 

"If you expect life to be easy, challenges will seem difficult. If you accept that challenges may occur, life will be easier." (Rob Liano) 

 

"It's part of life to have obstacles. It's about overcoming obstacles; that's the key to happiness."

(Herbie Hancock)

 

"Life is like an obstacle course,

question is; do you want to

live it with your eyes wide open,

or wearing a blindfold?"

(Citizen Z)