Just like emotions = energy in motion; just like molecules and atoms passing through the cellular wall, causing energetic exchange; just like facing a challenge in life – just like a catalyst enabling a chemical reaction to happen… just the same way life enables us to become better, more in touch with our true potential by providing challenges and difficult opportunities. The first time is without a doubt the hardest, but every subsequent attempt becomes exponentially easier. All our “struggles” are mostly such “temporary states” in a greater reaction of events.
Yes, chemistry happens not just in school, but also within us (literally all the time)
Without a catalyst a (bio)chemical reaction, in theory, ought to overcome an enormous energetic hurdle to occur. A catalyst lowers that substantially, by providing a sort of “passing-state”, a temporary, middle ground solution, from which the end result flows considerably easier/with less energy required to an end result.
Similarly, life, in terms of our experiencing provides us with “temporary difficult situations” which essentially serve as catalysts for us to grow beyond our current capabilities and help us “surpass our limits”. Almost everyone has a desire to go out and experience various things in life, we have this intrinsic wish to grow and develop (let’s call it intuition or soul for the sake of simplicity). In achieving that, we try and experience different aspects of life (recreation/sports, visiting landmarks/traveling, reading books, listening music, experiencing interpersonal exchanges, etc.) But what often happens when pursuing our dreams is we tend to distress or give up, when faced with challenging uptakes.
Why does it make us feel unpleasant?
Mostly because of the friction caused between our individual Soul and conscious Ego. During the course of our life, on the path of growth and self-development, our Ego tends to cling to the comfort zone (things that are safe and things we already know), whereas the Soul stretches out limitlessly and this dynamic causes tensions. Our souls are essentially “drops” or extensions of a universal consciousness (or you could call it “the great big quantum field of energy”, i.e.) and are in alignment with its “flow”. Whereas our Ego(s) are much more earth-bound – preservation of self, survival, instinct, logical… limited in a way. Most mental constructs/obstacles come from the later. Because the logical answer to a threat (=something making us feel unpleasant in this case) is to either avoid it or fight it. On the other hand, from the point of view of Soul, things are in unison, everything is connected and flows in its natural order. So, when we act out of balance between the two, tensions arise, which manifest as a defensive/survival mechanism of the Ego (which is still necessary for our survival and preservation, not to demonize it overly!) This usually takes on the form of fear. (If we just center ourselves enough and embrace a bit of the faith from our Soul part, we are able to overcome even the deepest fears, btw.)
What is transpiring in the background here?
– The big energetic hurdle of an un-catalyzed reaction. “Brute forcing it” or “running away from it” doesn’t make the hill any less steep, that’s why we often end up burned out, depressed or otherwise generally/chronically ill. When we feel like we’re unprepared, we’re most likely going to avoid it or plough through it mindlessly. That’s ok, that’s a perfectly healthy response actually. But the flow of life know only one direction – forward. So one way or another, we’ll be faced with a similar or even same situation again soon enough until we’re actually strong enough to overcome it fully. The beauty and secret behind this process is, that we DON’T NEED TO KNOW when or where that will be, but instead focus on the present moment instead. In that meantime, we typically undergo lots of smaller experiences that ultimately build up our capability to tackle greater ones.
“Everything happens for a reason, dammit!”
Every “state”, every situation we find ourselves in serves a purpose. Every setback is meant to teach us something. About ourselves, about the world and reality… it’s a never ending phase of expansion (just like the universe). Our purpose is just to catch these moments, embrace them and let go of them again.
“In life you either win or you learn.”
When life gives you lemons… it’s basically giving you a catalyst
Life “putting us through the ropes” is meant as a catalytic, passing state which we can either avoid, condemn and suffer through… or take as a learning experience and emerge into our next phase of development, wiser and closer to our “true selves”, our “true potential”. Of course, all this applies or rather depends on the level of openness/mindful awareness and the ability to put that change into motion, once again – balancing out Soul and Ego. 🙏 “Taking a moment to reflect” usually means just that – taking notice of your internal and external environment in the very moment and tuning into that “voice” within (soul, intuition, even gut feeling) that gives you some information about the next step/direction. When we’re as fully in tune/in sync with THAT, we’re most likely prepared to face the challenge (again) and through all our amounted openness and experiences be catalyzed fully into our “end result” – a fulfilling feeling and a healthy, fun and loving life. 🙂💜
Moment in time 