Things happen to us in our lives. People hurt us, we are disappointed, things don’t go as we expected. This was not the life we signed up for…or is it?
I believe that we signed up for exactly the life we are living. I know what you are thinking…”Sopa, have you gone mad! Why would I sign up for this?” If you are experiencing suffering, sorrow or pain at the moment, ask yourself this question: Who would I be if this experience never happened to me? Would you have the same people in your life? Would you have taken the steps you did for growth without that experience?
Yes, things happen in our lives that hurt. But nothing that has happened to you has been meant to break you or reduce you to something less than who you are. Whatever has happened to you has happened to make you into who you are!
Do not allow experiences or people to take away your power. You may have physically mastered this life but being able to hold on to your power means that you have mentally, emotionally and spiritually mastered your life. Have you?
Being a Master entails being self-aware at all times. Not being afraid to ask questions such as, What is really going on here? What is the Universe (God) trying to show me? What is the lesson underneath all of this? No matter how painful the experience is at this time. Sometimes what we see is not so pretty. When something has been hiding in the dark for a time, it tends to be pretty rancid and smelly. Maybe it’s time for a shower? A shower not of water but of compassion, understanding and love…love for yourself. Understanding that you did the best you could in each moment of your life based on where and who you were at that time. Have compassion for yourself instead of being so hard on yourself day in and day out. We fear crucifixion by others but the one we should truly fear is ourselves. We are the ones that create our own hell or heaven. We create our reality daily by where we choose to put our attention. Where is your attention today? Is it on what you have lost or is it on what you are grateful for that is still in your life? Are you breathing today? That is one huge reason to be grateful. Put your head and reason aside and learn to use your heart and what I like to call, your “hidden senses.”
“Reason knows when to step aside, the way the sense of smell is uninvolved when reading a book…like a telescope that cannot take us to the stars but that lets us know the stars are there. Reason points us to what lies beyond itself.“ ~L. Pascal
There is something beyond what we see and what we currently think of as “real.” Our five senses do not give us the whole picture…only a portion of it. You cannot see electricity but you know it exists because you use it every day. Just because you can no longer see and physically feel a loved one, why do you assume they are no longer there? Practice using your senses of intuition and feeling. Trust them. Those senses are more “real” than the ones in your physical world. No one can change them, alter them or hurt them. They exist in your heart and you are the one that gets to determine how “real” what you experience really is. No one else.
Be your own Master and create the world you want to experience.
Masterfully yours,
Chris
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.
“Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live: How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life” by Chris Sopa published by Balboa Press.
“You are destined to fly, but that cocoon has to go!”
~Nelle Morton
The Story of the Butterfly
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole. Then it stopped, as if it couldn’t go further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch it, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body. Neither happened! In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. It was never able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle was required by the butterfly to get through the opening and was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been and we would never be able to fly.
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At one point in my life, it seemed as if no matter what I was going through, friends and family would constantly say to me, “Well, you know what they say, when one door closes, God opens a window.” I used to think that was such a cliché. When doors in my life closed, they slammed. And on top of that, it seemed that I would be gasping for air before God would even crack a window let alone open one. Maybe it was the lack of oxygen over the years, but now I can truly say I know better.
The painful situations in our lives are blessings. No, they don’t feel like blessings at the time. I admit; they suck! But if you think back on your life, your most valuable and important lessons came through some kind of pain. We all like to be happy, but let’s face it, what do you really learn when you are happy? It is the pain and struggle in our lives that moves us forward and sets us free…every time!
Look at your life right now and instead of avoiding the pain, as we so often do, face it. Take the challenge head on and allow the experience to unfold. Whether it is a loss of a job, a break up, a death, a move (cough, cough), or even simply a physical pain; FEEL IT! I know it sounds crazy but for once let yourself feel the pain. What you find out is that the pain is worse in your head than it is in actuality. Allowing yourself to feel the pain is what sets you free to move to the next phase of your life. Avoiding it doesn’t make it go away; it allows it to grow and become even more painful. Your perception is your reality and when something sits in your head long enough it grows, and grows, and grows. Keep your eyes forward; don’t look back. When you stay here in the present you are never sad or in pain. It is only when we are past-reliving or future-tripping that we feel pain. Take control of where your mind and eyes go. Focus on what you want 
and what is good. Reflect, detach and then move forward.
Painfully Yours,
Chris
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.