Obstacles

I received a lovely gift this past Christmas. It was a gratitude journal published by Timber Hawkeye of Buddhist Boot Camp, an organization I sometimes check in with and have referenced here a few times. The pages are pre-printed to facilitate a quick daily fill-in-the-blank entry without overtaxing the brain. I think I take less than ten minutes each day in filling it out and I do so nearly every morning before getting out of bed. There is a page after each Sunday entry for a weekly recap. One of the points on Sunday’s recap is to write down a favorite piece of advice or word of wisdom that you heard that week, or that still resonates with you.

One piece I recently came across was “Obstacles are detours in the right direction.”

Let’s think about that. How many times have we driven down a road to find some kind of a detour? It might be a detour around an accident, construction or some other activity. Recently, many streets in Hollywood were blocked off for the Academy Awards. The other day, there was police activity on a neighboring street and people were being detoured around it due to the active investigation. Aside from the Academy Awards hoopla, most detours are for our own safety.

We pay attention to the road when we drive. After all, our well-being is at stake, as well as the well-being of other motorists and pedestrians. Physical property is also a concern, whether it is our own vehicle or the property of others. (Well, we should pay attention to the road, but people are still distracted with texting and phoning others. But, that's another issue.) Yet, how much attention do we pay to that other road we travel on through this journey called life? I don’t think we pay as much attention as we should.

And if we did, what obstacles would we encounter there?

I look back at the last few years of my teaching career. Students were becoming more unruly, even downright disrespectful and it was getting worse every year. These were definitely obstacles telling me I was headed in the wrong direction. I decided to make a change and take that leap of faith and retire earlier than I had financially planned on. But, I am much happier as I have no pressures on me in regards to things I must do by a certain time. I am responsible to no one but myself. How liberating!

As I reflect on those years, the obstacles were there earlier than I acknowledged.

What were those obstacles?

• Malaise
• Unhappiness
• Stress
• Apathy
• Fatigue
• Fear

We usually think of obstacles as being something physical; a detour sign, traffic cones, police tape. But, couldn't our emotions serve as a type of obstacle, a sign that something isn't right? 

Yes, I was caught up in my fear of the unknown of what would happen if I did retire sooner than I had anticipated.

One other piece of advice I’d heard before was “Leap and the net will appear.” I needed that faith that all would be okay. But, I leapt anyway, I trusted it would be okay. And the net has appeared.

We all doubt. It’s normal; it’s human. And that’s what we are, normal human beings.

Yet, how many times have we made faith-testing/gut-wrenching decisions and it’s turned out okay?

• Starting or leaving a relationship?
• Changing careers?
• Moving across the state, country or planet? 

Fear is one of our strongest emotions. Fear that it won’t be okay. Fear that I won’t know what I’m doing. Fear of "what if..." Fear leads to doubt; of self, of others, of change. Doubt also leads to "I’d better stay here where I’m comfortable, because I know where I am. I’m safe."

This is the ego talking, “I’m safe, in spite of the pain.” “I’m comfortable, in spite of being unhappy.” This isn’t the inflated ego of self-importance or self-aggrandizement; this is the ego of Freud. The ego that analyzes, that can over-intellectualize, that protects us from harm, that often keeps us from taking risks-those risks needed for our own growth.

This ego is one of our biggest obstacles, if not the biggest obstacle we must get around.

And if we can, I believe we can be back on the road again to a happier, more fulfilling life.

Image of "Obstacles are Detours in the Right Direction" is from "The Universe Has Your Back, a 52 card deck" (c) 2017 Gabrielle Bernstein, Hay House Pubs. www.gabbybernstein.com
Artwork by Micaela Ezra, www.micaelaezra.com

The Mahalo Daily Gratitude Journal is available on Amazon.com

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