At first glance most of us would say that those are terrible things to happen; that surely if something like that happens to someone, it would be a simple matter to justify their anger, their pain, their railing at the injustice of life.
But what if we looked at it another way? What if we could see, perhaps just around the next corner, or even many years into the future, how this particular - seemingly terrible event - had created change in this person, such that they are now living - on some level - a much better life, or that they have come to much greater inner peace thanks to these events, or a much greater acceptance of the self (which is tantamount to inner peace as well). What if these events brought them - over time - to inner joy? It's not ludicrous to think like this if you have been there and seen or felt it happen for yourself.
There is a wonderful Zen tale of which many versions can be found on the web (this one here), that epitomizes the ideas I've just expressed.
Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had
worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the
news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
"Maybe," the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbours exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed
horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their
sympathy on his misfortune.
"Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to
draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they
passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had
turned out.
“Maybe,” said the farmer.
Practicing non-judgment means that you are able to view with dispassion that which occurs in your life. You don't feel the need to label it as 'bad', or 'painful', or 'cruel', or any other descriptive you care to use. Instead, you are able to "allow" it to be, without it having to conform to whatever you believe about it, or, as Chris Griscom said in her book Ecstasy is a New Frequency: "where there is no resistance, there is no pain". Practicing non-judgment signifies not resisting that which is. Eckhart Tolle says in his first book The Power of Now: "Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it". Finally, Krishnamurti said that the secret to his happiness was not minding what happens.
As you can imagine, I'm not suggesting that practicing non-judgment is easy. Nor am I suggesting that this will work for you the first time you try it. But as you keep these thoughts in mind, and as you continue to apply it to your life - perhaps at first to the little things - you will find that it becomes possible.
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Also visit my book website: www.gabriellakortsch.com where you may download excerpts or read quotations from any of my books. My latest book Emotional Unavailability & Neediness: Two Sides of the Same Coin is available globally on Amazon in print & Kindle. You can also obtain it (or any of my other books) via Barnes & Noble.
Angefangen mit Rewiring the Soul - auf Deutsch: Deine Seele und Du, jetzt weltweit erhaltbar als Taschenbuch oder Kindle E-Book (Blog hier), werden auch meine anderen Bücher in Zukunft auf Deutsch bei Amazon erhaltbar sein.
Note: If you are wondering why this blog is now only appearing on alternate days (excluding Sat/Sun), it is because I also post on my other blog on the others days. That other blog is The Tao of Spiritual Partnership, so named for another one of my books. Click here to visit the blog and/or to sign up for the feed.
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Bücher von Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (Deutsch) ... JETZT bei Amazon (Taschenbuch oder E-Book) erhaltbar
DEINE SEELE UND DU
Libros por Gabriella Kortsch (español) ... próximamente en Amazon en versión bolsillo y E-Libro para Kindle
Empezando con Rewiring the Soul - en español: Reconectar con el Alma (blog aquí), se podrán encontrar mis libros en español por todo el mundo próximamente en Amazon.
My blog posts are also featured on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest & you can find me on Instagram
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