A few days ago, as I was sitting in our sauna contemplating the day and past week (sauna's are a norm in Finland - we have five million inhabitants and three million saunas) and I felt a heaviness come upon me. A few things felt so overwhelming that it was difficult to fight off anxiety and the deeper my thoughts fell into that pit of problems and issues before me, the lower my mood sank. These were things that I didn't have control of and every time I tried to think of actions on my part, I realised it would end up with me trying to take over things that weren't mine to control. As I stepped into the cooling shower I had a flashback of an incredible story where curses were turned into abundant blessings and I remembered the words of someone wiser than me saying that all our opposition is only there to strengthen, heal and bring growth to our lives. So instead of going down that never-ending spiral staircase, I took hold of what I was able to control, my mind! I began to declare the opposite of my depressing thoughts and say out loud the things I was hoping to take place instead. It might sound a tad crazy or like I chose denial, but the moment I changed my mindset, the heaviness lifted. I basically made the choice of either partnering with destruction or growth, darkness or light, and I chose the latter. What happened was that like a cloud in front of my eyes was lifted and I was able to see clearly again. I remembered the moments in the past where I had felt hopeless and how even the toughest battles in my life have led to bountiful harvests.
Denying a problem never leads to freedom. But looking at an issue face to face and deciding that it won't take me down but will turn into diamonds, no matter how much pressure it will take, is going to set me up for the opportunity of growth and success. When our minds are focused only on the things that can go wrong, we end up missing the chances to turn things around for the good. I don't think positive thinking by itself is always enough, we need to have deeply rooted truths to carry us through the moments where faith is truly tested. No matter how hard we work, how right we do everything or how perfectly we live our lives, problems will arise. None of our actions are going to change that fact. But what does change, is our capability to face them, harvest the gold hidden in those troubling times and ability to sustain our peace through any storm to the extend, that we'll be able to expand that peace to calm those raging winds. In the end we'll maybe be able to see every problem for what they really are...well camouflaged upgrades.
xxx
Photos by Adriana Dobrin
Sweater: Urban Outfitters
Printed Pants: Zara
Sneakers: Nike Air Max
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