Life's terms...

A former spiritual guide of mine used to bristle when he'd hear some of the jargon we toss around in meetings. One of the terms that he'd sometimes object directly to was when someone talked about "living life on life's terms".

He would point out that, in his opinion and based on his experience, life did not, in fact, create "terms" - that, the circumstances in our life were not as a consequence of some sort of cosmic test where we were on a pass/fail situation.

At the same time, the best way that he could experience his life was to treat each circumstance in his life as an opportunity to learn and to surrender whatever attachments caused his reaction to those circumstances to be negative (or, sometimes, overly positive). I saw him do this in his life in prosperity and poverty, in health and dire sickness, when everyone loved him or when relationships were challenging.

In short, the best of his life was lived in relationship to the circumstances in a state of relative neutrality.

I had a chat with my sponsor this morning and as we related and encouraged each other down this path, I was once again struck by how much I want to figure out what is right and wrong with my life and those people who I am constantly challenged by. I want solutions to the situations that challenge me. I want others to agree with those solutions and give me what I want (time, money, etc.) to make the circumstance more favorable.

Better I realize that the circumstances are just that - circumstances. I can love them or I can hate them but, in the end, I get to deal with them just as they are. I am not "powerless" over circumstances. I am neutral to them. From that position of neutrality, I can truly appreciate how the God of the universe can, and does, allow me to learn and grow. At some level, it doesn't matter whether it is in adversity or prosperity (though I certainly ask for and desire prosperity), I can and do grow from the experience in life.

In my less than humble opinion, it is, in fact, the purpose of my life...