It's Ok to not be Ok.

“Difficulty Level”…it’s the first thing I look for when downloading a new game or perusing the Puzzles Books I’m hoping to grab to waste some time.

“Advanced”… oh HECK no…”Intermediate”…I mean I guess I could…”Easy”…YEEESSSS, that’s what I’m looking for.

“EASY”…it’s what we are all looking for in life. We want the easy classes, the easy job, the easy relationship, the easy kids, easy money, and even our eggs over easy…see…easy peasy.

Yet, as we travel the sacred paths of life, we see how EASY often alludes us. It calls us from afar, telling us it SHOULD be that way and as we arrive and invest, we see it is often anything but.

Some of us struggle when the discomfort, disappointment, and downright difficult situations of life show up at our door. We find that we are NOT okay. We see that we are NOT fine and we acknowledge that many of life’s lessons can be hard. 

But…what if, Dear One…on the other side of EASY is LIVING? What if on the other side of EASY is the assent to that level 8,9,10…relationship…career…financial situation…parent/child bond…sense of self…and MAYBE even the HEALING we have longed for.

Pain is not EASY. Affliction and Adversity are not EASY, and for some, if it isn’t EASY, well then they would rather not play. BUT…for the rest of us…we begin to sense that there is something more. There is something deeper to continuing the game. There is something in this difficulty that leads to learning and growth. We sense that we were meant to experience just such a difficulty as this. 

And so we continue. We follow the storm, believing the rainbow is just a few additional steps away. We follow the sounds of labor, believing a sweet babe will be cuddling its mother. And we persevere in our own trials because we KNOW somewhere deep within us that we will find the most amazing treasure on the other side of this bend…ourselves. 

Our true self begins to emerge…the part that appreciates life and loved ones. The part that employs empathy and has the capacity to act for the greatest good. A part that has clarity on purpose. And a part that whispers the truth that we can do it again and again…each time compounding our treasures.

So…Dear One…when we go looking for that EASY life… it’s ok to pull her off the shelf and look her over. She is shiny and light. She travels well and she makes us FEEL good…for now. 

BUT, let us not stop there. Let us remember, we can do hard things. We grow. We become stronger…and ultimately, we are resilient.