Pursuing Perfect #4: Hope, suffering, and solutions. Why we can always choose…
hope /hōp/
noun:
the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best
Hope is something we must choose.
We choose hope without thought when we are joyful, it’s almost expected and automatic that all fear dissipates, caution goes out the window, and progress follows when we are joyful and happy.
We move forward with optimism and confidence that things will work out.
We have blind HOPE.
BUT
When we are suffering and in pain, we tend to let fear control us and we lose hope, we become “realistic” we lose sight of possibilities, focus on our problems, and forget our dreams and goals.
BUT
When we take control over our own minds; we can choose to have hope in the face of adversity and challenges.
We can choose to focus on the suffering or we can choose to focus on solutions to the current situation and environment we are in.
As a very wise friend told me,
We can search all the time, search for the good in the bad, search for the solution in the problem, search for ourselves when we are alone, search for the win in the loss.
Suffering in life is inevitable.
We will never escape it
SEARCH FOR HOPE, friends.
We must seek to surround ourselves with hopeful people.
People who seek for solutions.
People who look to solve problems instead of complain about them.
When we surround ourselves with solution seekers, we never let fear cripple our lives and minds.
We simply see the complications and challenges of life as opportunities to grow and become better.
WARNING!!!
There will be people in life who constantly complain about the situation they find themselves in.
They continue on the path of tripping and falling over the same obstacles over and over again.
There is no doubt we will all face challenges.
Suffering is not an option.
There is no negotiation with our nature.
A book I’m currently reading called, “WHY DO MEN SUFFER?” By: Leslie D. Weatherhead, states this on page 49:
”One of the penalties the race must pay for its own development is that with spiritual sensitiveness and aesthetic appreciation there must go, hand in hand, a greater poignancy in painful experiences. But as one has put it, it is better to be a man in pain, than a cabbage in ecstasy.”
My interpretation and understanding of this is, because we are a highly intelligent and evolved species, (the human race), we can feel what many species cannot.
The rewards for this are countless.
But, in exchange for being so evolved, we suffer and feel a great deal more than other species who are much less developed mentally and spiritually.
Such as plants and animals.
BUT we must be grateful we have these gifts.
Suffering is a gift.
We should embrace the suffering.
Why, you ask?
Simple.
It makes us better.
Moral of the story:
We are born flawed humans therefore we will suffer.
There is no point in complaining about suffering.
Think of climbing a mountain, when you start you’re filled with excitement and ambition to get to the top. As you start to walk and exert energy, maybe you get hot, sweaty, irritated, start to feel a blister, get out of breath, and you start to lose that pep in your step.
Maybe you start complaining in your head (or worse, out loud) and think, “maybe I should just turn around, this isn’t worth it, the view won’t even be that nice, etc.”
The suffering starts to take over your mind and you don’t like it. The pain is annoying and you start to look for ways to end it, cool off, take a drink, turn around etc.
BUT I PROMISE…
If you quit, you’ll regret it.
And more so, you will teach yourself it is okay to quit when things get difficult, it’s okay to give up on your ambition, and THIS is where dreams die.
This mentality has killed more dreams, ideas, ambitions, and goals than any other source.
SO I CHALLENGE YOU…
When you’re walking up that hill, and you start to feel the pain, when that little voice starts telling you to go back to comfort, when that pain influences your mind…
I want you to lean into it.
Embrace the suffering.
Love the challenge.
Enjoy the climb.
Be in the moment.
Fall in love with the process and the progress you’re making.
Laugh at yourself for a moment.
Release the tension.
Force yourself to smile the biggest smile you can imagine.
Just think of this:
Focus on your breath, breathe deep and fully in, and fully out.
Fill your lungs then empty them.
Heal your body and mind with your breathing.
Take your time
BUT
PUSH YOURSELF.
Each step you gain energy, strength, and momentum.
Until before you know it, you’re at the top.
And all the suffering was worth it as you reach the summit and look for miles in every direction and you see all the beauty God has made.
You appreciate the suffering He gives you and you can certainly appreciate the view.
You can be satisfied with the result because you went through something so difficult.
The immediate reward is the view.
BUT
THE REAL REWARD…
is the self-respect you gain from knowing you can overcome any challenge placed in front of you.
The HABIT of doing challenging things to make yourself better.
Understanding the pain is always temporary.
And with God, all things are possible.
Sometimes we all need someone to remind us of all these things.
A team of people, a group that truly has our best interests in mind, not just a buddy telling us if it hurts, we shouldn’t do it.
We need a friend who says,
“Oh that hurts? Good!! You will probably be better once you get through that pain and I support you 100% but I cannot do it for you!”
That’s a true friend and we all need those.
BUT
THE QUESTION WE MUST ASK IS THIS:
HOW will we suffer?
And I offer you a tool to help, here’s the question to ask yourself:
WHAT MOUNTAIN WILL I CLIMB TODAY?
And here are some ideas for you…
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cntraveler.com/gallery/most-beautiful-lakes-in-the-world/amp
Next, we must ask:
Are we facing the same suffering over and over again?
OR
Are we facing new challenges that push us in new and exciting ways where we learn to elevate ourselves and add new value to our lives and those around us?
The answer to those questions are up to us.
Pain and suffering,
When used correctly,
Forces us to become better,
Forces us to elevate our game.
This is what pursuing perfect is all about.
Elevating.
reaching for our God given potential and the burning desire to be the best we possibly can each and every day.
There is a Latin phrase:
Veni, vidi, vici.
I came, I saw, I conquered.
This is what we can do each day.
Because this is what Jesus did for us.
Jesus is the ultimate source of hope.
BECAUSE
He went through unimaginable and more importantly undeserved suffering in order to relate with us and help show us what it looks like to have hope amidst the darkness.
Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (1833-1922)
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leon_Bonnat_-_The_Crucifixion.jpg
