The Upside of Down

    Imagine you are lost at sea. Your boat has capsized, and you are now floating on a life preserver.  After three nauseating days on the cerulean abyss your only desire is land. To your amazement you float upon an enormous island paradise. The island is full of animal life, running water, edible plants, and suitable shelter materials. Being the most remote place in the world it has an abundance of resources that could last a lifetime.

    All is well except for your desire to get off the island and back home. A month has gone by, and you are really getting tired of being stuck on this island, so, bored to near death you decide to explore. Along your journey you stumble upon a large cave opening. You fashion yourself a torch and proceed inside. The cave goes very deep with many different passages, and soon you find yourself just as lost, hungry, and vulnerable as you were on the open water. Nothing at this point sounds better than being back at your camp.
   
    Why is it that as human beings we rarely appreciate what we have until it is gone? We experience many emotional highs, but these quickly fade as our desire, ever striving, craves for more stimulation.

    Many people live their life in such a manner that, if it were a movie, they would constantly be pressing fast forward. Often we look towards tomorrow for satisfaction and oversee the treasure today offers. Alternatively, some are too busy living in the past to see what lies in their path. These are the roadblocks keeping us from realizing the amazing gift we have been given: The present. It can be difficult to understand how negative experiences can have positive effects in our lives, but no matter what undesirable situations we may encounter we should always be thankful for the present moment.
   
    Lets go back to the ocean, before your boat had capsized. What was the reason you decided to gallivant across sea? Maybe you were frustrated with work, school, or home and decided to take off and clear your head. What do you think the positive outcome of your boat sinking and becoming lost at sea might be? Could it be that you now want nothing more than to be home? The place that, until recently, you wanted nothing to do with. It is in times of hardship that we begin appreciating what is normally taken for granted. What better way to discover what we want than learning what we don’t want?

    Anything worth having is worth toiling over, and it is the times when we are put to the test that we realize exactly what it is we are fighting for.

    Many people have a hard time overcoming adverse situations and feel hurt or angry as a result. Too often we fall prey to our own insecurities and feel as if we are at a disadvantage, yet we fail to realize that we’ve already endured what ever horrible problems we feel squandered by. We should look at bad experiences as obstacles we have overcome and allow them to uplift us instead of drag us down.
   
    The great Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote: “Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” This quote is a testament to the fact that we should not dwell on negative experiences. If you are content with what you have then you will not suffer the pain of loss. How can you be a victim if nothing is lacking?

    We will all face obstacles which are extremely difficult, but the key is to accept that these are aspects of life that cannot be changed. Suffering happens, and to oppose it is to suffer exponentially. We must stay vigilant to ensure we always remain conscious of our thoughts, words, and actions; to always remember where we came from and what we have achieved.

    In the words of Gautama Buddha, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.”

Forgive. Never forget.