So was it good or bad?

It is truly liberating to realize that there is no connection between an event and your reaction to the event. No connection whatsoever. Most people are so identified with their thoughts that they believe the emotions they experience when something happens means that the emotion is inherent in the event itself. So they think for example that death is sad, illness is terrible, and that divorce is tragic. But death is only death, illness is only illness, and divorce is only divorce. There is no emotion inherent in any of these events. The emotion is something we attach to the event and it arises as a result of our interpretation of the event. This emotion is not inherent in the event but is always the result of our opinion or interpretation of what’s happening.

   In reality, death could turn out to be the greatest adventure of all, illness could be the most transformational experience in our entire life, and – trust me on this one – divorce may be the greatest liberation (at least that was my experience)!

   You can test this for yourself. Take an event and then watch how differently people react to the event. Let’s take the volcanic ash from the Island volcano in April 2010 that caused airports to close down all over Europe for many days. Was this a blessing or a curse? Well from the reports I’ve heard, it all depended on who you are and where you were. In other words, it all depended on your story, on your interpretation of the event and not on the event itself. So for many people it was a hassle because they were stranded for days at airports. But for others, it was a wonderful blessing, an unexpected gift! I personally know of three concrete examples of friends who just loved the volcanic ash. One was the couple from London who was visiting my youngest son and his family in San Francisco. They could not fly back to London after 10 days as planned so they had an extended vacation and the airlines paid! Another was a friend who was on holiday in Egypt – he said he got five extra days at a 5-star hotel and even though his boss wasn’t happy, there was nothing anyone could do about it! And the third was a woman I know who lives in Oregon who was visiting her dying sister in Uppsala, Sweden – and since she couldn’t fly home she got to be with her beloved sister right up to the end. So was it good or bad?

 

 

 

Comments

[How to Relieve Stress]

I see what you're saying that the emotions are not a part of the event itself but what we attach to the event.

It really is a matter of perspective and how we view things in our life.

Some look on things negatively and others choose to focus on the positives. This determines the way they feel about events in their lives.