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Seven years ago, Briana and I started working on a book for people who are ready to transform their lives. It’s called Rituals for Transformation. It features 108 lessons to be done over 108 days, and it takes the reader on a journey of healing and awakening. Of all our courses and books, it’s the thing I’m most proud of. I can go through the book myself, year after year, and get something new out of it each time.
Today I’d like to share lesson number 83: Every hardship is an opportunity to let go. The following is excerpted from the book.
What parts of life are hard for you? Take a look at your hardship today, and ask yourself these questions. First, what’s wrong with hard? We understand that you may prefer easy, but is it possible to see hard as just hard, and not wrong? Like a workout should be. Like a day of farm work. Hard, but manageable.
Second, what is my role in the perception of this situation as hard? While there are certain circumstances that nearly anyone would perceive as objectively hard – like carrying boulders – others are only subjectively hard because of your personal viewpoint. Hardship is a state of mind that can be difficult to relinquish. Perhaps you were taught that hard work is noble, or that it’s the only way to achieve anything, or that easy equals lazy. Such notions could lead you to believe you get extra credit for leading a hard life.
Third, could I let go of my feelings about this situation? Hold a hard situation in mind and feel what comes up in your body. Feel willingly. Invite the feeling. Welcome it. Breathe into it. And let it go.
Fourth, what’s possible when I let go? What’s beneath that hardship? When you view your hardship as an opportunity to let go, a tremendous array of additional opportunities arise. Thus, every hardship becomes an opportunity…
… to wake up
… to forgive
… to practice changing perspective
… to find new ways to play
… to put what you’ve been learning to the test
… to practice flexibility
… to reunite with a fragmented part of yourself
… to level up
… to reaffirm your values
… to practice going with the flow
… to discover your needs
… to use your gifts
… to connect to Spirit
… to grow
… to own your power
… to access intuition
… to live your purpose
… to ask for help
… to open your heart
… to relinquish control
… to be supported
… to choose lightness
… to experience trust
… to love yourself
… and to become who you really are.
Holding this hardship in mind, scan that list, and see if one of these many opportunities jumps out at you. Make a choice to change your story. Now, what’s one thing you can do right now to move yourself in the direction of this choice?
Be well,
Peter
