If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.
Mary Pickford, 1892-1979
At my track workout this morning I was thinking about how blessed I am to be able to run. I was injured most of last year and that really puts things in perspective. I was talking to CB, one of my awesome teammates, about how I used to be focused on whether I was going too slow, getting too tired, and questioning when was i going to be faster and faster before my injuries. This morning I was just thankful and happy because I get to run. The fast pace will get there when it has to get there and meanwhile I am running like it’s the last day I will do it because you never know if it will actually be your last day.
During our warm up Nicole, one of my teammates (and a great triathlete) was telling us how her bike broke two days ago. Not big deal unless you are leaving tomorrow to a race out of the country which is her case. She was in great spirits (she is awesome) and I told her how I believe everything happens for a reason and how this will somehow help her race better (she got a loaned bike to go to Puerto Rico for her race). I remember I told her This too is for the best.
I have learned that wherever we are in our life is where we need to be in order to get to where we are supposed to be. In order to learn and become better people. If we go forward and pick ourselves up when we fall, then whatever circumstances we are facing can be made better.
But it got me thinking about what someone asked me once: How do you know, How can you be so sure this too is for the best?… Well, I do know It’s a line many of us have heard our elders say, and it’s sometimes used as a spiritual slogan. But in truth, I know it has the potential to be so much more.
The true test of certainty is not in the moments when everything is going smoothly, but in the times when it seems like everything around us is falling apart. I say “seems” because it is, in fact, all an illusion. Most of the time when things seem to be falling apart, they are really just coming together, albeit very much in disguise to us.
There are so many clear examples of this. A man misses his flight. He’s upset because he has many things to do at his destination and many are depending on him. In the most disturbing scenario, his missed plane crashes. In the best case scenario, he meets someone special he is meant to meet on his next flight. Maybe we will never know why he missed his flight, but there was definitely a reason.
We don’t always get to see the bigger picture, but we need to remember there always is one.
The spiritual path encourages us to recall that there is a positive aspect to every event, and to trust and appreciate that the universe is always working on our behalf. We can use these moments to grow our certainty in the Creator, who intends only what is best for us, no matter how it may look or feel through the lens of our limited perspective.
This is why an old saying like, “This too is for the best,” is so much more than a slogan. When we believe it with all our heart and mind, we activate a spiritual technology that will assist us in experiencing the good in all that happens.
Everything is for the best.
We don’t have to see it right away. We just have to trust it.
Today, review one of the challenges in your life. As hard as it is, see the Light at work there. Search until you find the gift that the Creator has bestowed on you through this difficulty. Manifest your change in consciousness by addressing the challenge differently than before.
And, if I have to give you a quick personal example, 11 years ago I had a great job at the Mexican Consulate here in Phoenix, AZ. I was swimming, going to grad School, everything seemed to be perfect. For political reasons I had to stop working at the Consulate. It’s not that I didn’t want to, or that I got fired, it was something that seemed unfair to all of us at the moment. But I knew better. I realized that was not what I wanted (I was paying my school, rent and living from the money I was making and I loved my job) but I also knew if this door was closing it was because a new one, a better one was opening. I just kept thanking life for whatever it was bringing me (even though I had no clue what it was). I just knew there was something better coming. Long story short I had a lot of free time in my hands and needed a job as well so I asked for a job at Scottsdale Aquatic Club. They said they didn’t have openings so I offered to volunteer, learn how they do things and in that way get hired whenever they had an opening. They though it was a good deal and told me I would be helping Kevin Zacher. Turns out Kevin is my soul mate. We talked a little during practice and went to the movies on a Saturday, October 30th of 2004. 20 days later we were engaged. And on January 28th of 2005 (exactly 10 years ago) we got married. Life has just gotten better ever since and I would not be here today if it wasn’t for that door that closed back then. So, believe me, whatever you are going through, IT WILL GET BETTER.
I hope you have a great day and remember, everything happens for a reason even when we can’t see the big picture.
Remember you can subscribe to this blog to get it directly in your email and remember to follow me (@terezacher) and my wonderful team (@SonoranDistProj) on twitter for daily mental tune ups.
Tere Zacher Blog 