Are Some Things Not Meant To Be?
QUESTION: “Are some things just not meant to be or should we have tried harder?’ANSWER: Isn’t it possible to ask this question of nearly every situation in our life? Another way of stating this is – “what is enough?” The problem with this question is that it assumes that something is lacking. It assumes that we are inadequate in some way. That we are lacking in some fundamental way. This is really a sort of subtle aggression against ourselves.
Many of life’s situations are beyond our control. We may be laid off from our job, a relationship may end, or a myriad of other life’s situations don’t come out the way we would like. So, can we ever be truly satisfied with a situation? As Mick Jagger sang “I can’t get no satisfaction.” At some point we must realize that we can never be totally satisfied. Once we accept this reality, we begin to search for something different – we begin to look within.
One way of looking within is through the practice of meditation. Through meditation we can begin to trust in our own basic goodness and we can begin to appreciate things the way they are. We begin to see that the only thing we need to change is our view. It is possible for us to respond to every situation with compassion and loving-kindness. When we do that, then we will never have to second-guess whether what we have done is enough.
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