Obstacles. To face them. To stay strong despite them. (Lifeblog)

“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” 

- Molière

"The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

Sailing through this journey called 'Life'...
© Santhosh Muraleedharan

Hi Readers,

Hope you are all doing well. Have been going through very difficult times lately, so this post is going to be a "Note To Self" type of post, where I'm reminding myself of how to keep myself going with such strong views.

This blog post will be about the demoralizing, demotivating and moreover, the saddening power of Obstacles in Life. It is going to be formulated very generally, and using my own personal views and experiences regarding this topic. As opposed to what you may initially assume about the nature of this post, it is not to give out a pessimistic description of them. But on the contrary to insist on the fact that they happen to everybody at some point in life, generally speaking, and we all should find ways to either overcome them or at least find the courage to face them, if there's no real way to change the situation.

You cannot avoid them.

They will happen at some point. You cannot always predict when they are going to happen. Much on the contrary, most of the time you just don't know when they will happen. They just do, and you have to face them, some way or the other. Sometimes you have the resources, the support and the means to face them. But sometimes it's all up to you to build that strength by yourself.

And they happen to everybody at some point. Even the more fortunate go through some crisis at some point in their lives. You just can't avoid them. But if you keep that in your mind, it does help at some point in a very small way - the fact that we all face crisis situations at some point in life. Not a very practical way to approach the obstacle itself, but it's a small step you can use to build that inner strength.

They cannot always be explained.
And why should we try to find an explanation to everything, when in many situations there are no straightforward explanations to help us in understanding the roots of the obstacle. Yes you can use philosophy, spirituality, astrology and other such tools to help you. But in the end, they should only be used in a positive manner to look forward and not backward. What I underline with that is the fact that people shouldn't draw negative conclusions using such powerful tools, like "Oh we deserved that" or "It's in my Destiny to go through such pain" or even "My Stars are not right in this lifetime".

This is my personal view. I have read the Bhagavad Gita few months back, and it has given me a lot of strength in difficult times. And this Sacred Text is just a path, the self-realizations and personal interpretations that follow its reading is something that happens on an individual scale. So if you wish to use it for your own benefit, it is wise to read it and moreover understand it with an open and positive mind. It may not explain the situation or the obstacle you are facing, but it will help you face it with more ease.

They cannot always be solved or overcome.
What can not always be explained, how can one expect to solve such issues. I agree I shouldn't be too specific, because there are situations where the obstacles that hit you can be avoided at times, and you can even solve them at many occasions. If so, there's nothing better than working towards coming out of an situation which presents an obstacle!

However at many times, the solution is not towards the situation itself, but how you approach the situation that just happened.

When the situation can't be changed, or more precisely if you can't possibly do anything to change it, there's no point in thinking about it, or feeling upset over it. It is then time to realize that there is a Life beyond that hardship.

Only you can help yourself to face them with strength and courage. (And you always CAN do it.)

I agree that people who are close to the person facing the hardship, will be a great source of strength and support to that person. But in reality, at the end of it all, the final effort should come from the person itself.

Personally speaking it took me a lot of time to realize that. These people who surround me and who really are there for me, will only help me to help myself in the end. Those are the key words "Helping to help myself". The final act, that final push will have to eventually come from me.

Moreover, I believe there is always a way to overcome hardships. Despite their shattering impact on our mindset. You always CAN do it.

In my view, what makes a person is not their ability to handle Life in its best moments, but how they bounce back after going through a painful obstacle. That leap you make for moving ahead of the hardship, that strength you try to build after the difficult times, that's what will make the person.

Final words

As usual, I admit to you my readers, that it is not easy for me for applying all these ideas and thoughts to my own personal life. You may wonder "Why is he preaching all this, when he does not practice it himself?" Well in reality, I do try my best to tackle my issues remembering these simple and straightforward thoughts, but no one's perfect. In that way, I am also simply learning through this journey called Life, how to go through my own moments of hardships.

On that note, I hope you all will sail through well enough, without having to go through many hardships in the first place.

Cheers,
Santhosh