Finding Solace Within

Sometimes I get stressed. I bet you do too.

When we get stressed, it's easy to forget about what truly matters. In other words, it's hard to focus on the things that actually do matter, which typically is not the daily stresses of life.

When I'm stressed, I like to remind myself that I have this blog. I remember I can come to it any time to read about the truly important things in life. And I can write about them too. It serves as a reminder for me to bring my focus back to what truly matters.

It's kind of like my inner solace. It's always there if I'm willing to look.

So what does truly matter?

When the going gets tough, people often do one of two things. They either collapse and let life walk all over them, or they fight with life. Neither approach is ultimately productive.

So what's the alternative?

Start by looking within. Notice who's witnessing the turmoil. One day you'll come to find that you're in there, safe from all the thoughts, emotions, and outside world, because you're just noticing it all.

You're in pain? No, you're experiencing pain.

You're stressed? No, you're experiencing stress.

You're scared? No, you're experiencing the feeling of scared.

You're you. You're in there. Pain, stress, fear - those are all things you experience. They are not you.

Learn to embrace this truth. Learn to live by it.

Stop identifying with the stress. Just witness it, and let it go. There's nothing to do about it other than relax in the face of it.

While you may not be used to letting go so easily (after all, we spend our lives clinging to thoughts and emotions), you can learn. I can learn. I'm learning, practicing, struggling, failing, but continuing to try. There's no other way.

We must learn to work with life rather than against it. There's no need to collapse. There's no need to tense. It's not us against life. It's us with life. We are life.

Remember when things get tough, that everything outside is temporary. Feelings of anger, frustration, despair. Unpleasant thoughts, nagging emotions. They're all temporary.

What's underneath - joy, love, free-flowing energy - is permanent. This is the stuff that matters. This is what's truly important. This is your solace within.

Consider this an invitation, and a reminder, to never stop looking within and removing the garbage you store every day by focusing on the temporary.

Look within. Love within. It's all that matters.

Live with substance!

Gabe Orlowitz