Perceiving life through a biased filter
How are you coping right now? Are you dealing with any problem? What do you think are the lessons contained in your difficulties? What would it take to improve your situation? Are you willing to consider it from a different perspective? I am asking a lot of questions as these are the kind of questions we need to ask ourselves in order to overcome our difficulties. Many people feel dominated because they believe that life is imposed on them instead of exercising for them.
I know it may not always look like this, mainly because we see our difficulties through a distorted lens. By this I mean that our negativity bias gets in the way and we misrepresent a situation, perhaps even exaggerating it, instead of examining it carefully. For that reason, keeping a journal can be a powerful tool to familiarize ourselves with our thoughts and emotions when life doesn’t go our way.
Life is precious, but it can be just as volatile. This is evident through the wars that have dominated mankind throughout history, the inhospitable conditions in third world countries, and the unpredictable weather patterns. This does not mean that mother nature is unforgiving because that is perceiving life through a biased filter. While we may not fully understand why unfortunate things happen, it is because we are limited in our understanding of what surrounds them.
Life responds to our level of consciousness
We should not focus on our difficulties, but acknowledge them, so that we can process them without getting bogged down in negativity. Otherwise, we are likely to exaggerate our problems instead of recognizing that life is evolving as it should. Therefore, our perception creates a color palette on which we paint the canvas of our life. This is a blank canvas and we can decide the texture and tone of the paint. That is why life is a series of masterpieces, constantly developing and taking shape. For example, your perception of life in your early years will be different decades later. Hopefully, you will have experienced unique conditions to form your own beliefs.
We can look at life as a feedback loop based on our level of awareness and personal growth. As our awareness expands, our perception changes to correspond to our new understanding. I trust that you feel that your life is not carved in stone but is open to change, according to the degree of your personal growth. It is worth understanding this idea because we must not succumb to our difficulties but see them as phases of expansion throughout our lives.
Similarly, we must be open to new experiences and not label situations as good or bad. Otherwise, we withhold the goodness that the universe is trying to express through us. For example, what may seem like an unpleasant situation can be disguised as a blessing. It is difficult to judge a situation based solely on appearances because things are not always what they seem. Life has an inexplicable way of unfolding, and our finite minds are limited in how they perceive situations. It is simply the nature of our biology to see things based on our conditioning.
We must give it time to develop and not be convinced that life is conspiring against us. This is because life reflects our level of consciousness at any given time. What you have in your mind and heart repeats itself throughout your reality. The American mystic Neville Goddard echoed this idea when he wrote: “The world is a mirror, forever reflecting what you are doing, within yourself.”
Spectators in this game of life
To allow life to touch us intimately, we must not let the negativity of the world consume us. Negativity is broadcast into our living rooms day and night. Social media has become an outlet for moral outrage. People hide behind screens to express their disapproval of governments, institutions, celebrities and anyone who does not conform to their beliefs. If we accept this narrative, we are convinced that life is chaotic and meaningless. This is not the absolute truth because we don’t know all the details to form an honest opinion. In most cases, we are given a glimpse of the information and make incomplete judgments.
For every negative news event, there are thousands of positive events that we never hear about. Although we may not know why bad things happen, we can take comfort in the knowledge that there is a mysterious power that orchestrates the process of life, within the container of a greater plan. The greater plan I speak of may be a cosmic or mundane process, or it may be a greater plan according to your life’s journey.
In some respects, we are spectators in this game of life and although we have more power than we realize; we are still at the mercy of the forces of life. But this does not have to prevent us from living a meaningful life. We can take comfort in the fact that the key to our kingdom is in our hands and we can still co-create our life based on uncertainty.
The obstacle is the way
With this in mind, I invite you to return to the opening questions of the first paragraph. If you keep a journal, answer the questions as journal prompts. If you don’t have a journal, write your responses on your smartphone or computer. Try to get a genuine idea of the problem you are dealing with. Put aside your prejudices and consider the situation with an open mind. Do not be carried away by your opinion alone because if you ask five people about your situation, you will undoubtedly get five different answers.
There could be a valuable clue contained within your problem that you may be missing. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said: “The obstacle is the way.” It requires unearthing the answers within yourself and keeping an open mind to whatever comes up. Life can be a wonderful experience, but it can be hard and unforgiving. It does not mean that it is none of these things, but what we choose to pay our attention to that shapes our destiny.