In the Blink of an Eye

!±8± In the Blink of an Eye

I imagine all of you reading this article have experienced a moment when everything abruptly changes in your life and leaves you gasping for a breath. We've all had those moments, what I call life's "blinks." Sometimes it affects our life positively, and sometimes those blinks create a negative feeling.

It's amazing how one moment in time can change everything. You are living your life, expecting it to continue in a particular way. Then suddenly, out of the blue, in the blink of an eye, with one choice, everything dramatically changes. It could seem good or it could seem bad, but for some just the fact that there is a big change throws them into a tailspin.

Let's look at some examples of positive moments: The love of your life asks you to marry him; You are called into your boss' office and receive an unexpected promotion or raise; You win a competition; You close a fantastic deal which brings you great monetary abundance; You experience the birth of a baby; You purchase your very first home, and so on. We have so many examples every day of positive moments - how one moment, a blink of an eye, changes the course of your life. All of the above happenings create big change.

On the other hand, we also have what most call negative blinks. They might look like this: Your company downsizes and your job is unexpectedly terminated; You experience a family death; You receive a large, unexpected bill that you don't have the money to pay; You are diagnosed with a serious illness; You have a car accident; One of your children have an issue with the police, and on and on we could go with what feel like negative moments. Once again, in the blink of an eye, everything changes fast.

When things are going well we feel better about life, even though there are always small changes that appear on our daily path. It's easier to feel good when all is well. But when we have negative moments that suddenly appear, or if they seem to be relentless and are sticking like glue, we get upset and depressed, playing the victim over our perceived negative experiences.

Stuff happens! Every day, every week, every month, every year, throughout our entire life, stuff will happen. We cannot escape the obstacles in our life because that's how life is. But we can escape the negative response that so often accompanies the experience. When life happens and perceived negative occurrences flood our path, it's simply how we see them that makes the difference in our response.

Whatever we focus on expands, so if we see it as a "bad" happening, we will create more negativity around the experience and thus attract to us more of the same type negative experiences. Why? Because we are energetic beings and can only bring to us what we are feeling and believing inside of us. However, if we look at the moment through the eyes of acceptance, knowing everything that comes to us has a reason for being in our life, it shifts the entire feeling and brings us a different scenario.

Here's an example. I was getting ready to begin working on this article, so the thoughts of what to write were formulating in my mind. I was interrupted by a phone call from an attorney that initially threw me for a loop. I am working congenially with a city group concerning some of my property that they are taking away - progress they say. I had agreed on the settlement and thought all was well. The money I would receive is to complete the repairs necessary after they alter my property. Then I got the call from an attorney stating that the bank has the authority to take some of the settlement as security, and they wanted to take half of it. My first reaction was a wee bit of anger and I found my heart racing somewhat as I felt this was an injustice. I thought, "This isn't fair. The money is for my use to fix my property once the city has finished their changes." I was justified to be a little angry, don't you think? What right do they have to take anything in the first place, let alone half of it?

Where was I at that moment? In fear! Fear is always based in negative feelings and produces negative behavior. I was resisting the natural flow of the situation in my life. I suddenly became aware of the space I was in and totally surrendered. Immediately a calmer feeling came over me and I thought about the entire situation as the attorney explained various aspects of what was to happen. As soon as I surrendered I realized I had some options and could lower the amount the bank would take. I said a quick prayer, called the bank, and was able to lower the amount substantially.

What is my point for this example? When you are thinking and feeling from a place of fear and see an impending disaster, you actually create a disaster because that's what you see. But when I let it go and allowed myself to surrender my negative feelings, a solution appeared just like that. Once I let my negative feelings go, even though the situation still required the relinquishing of some of the money to the bank, I was able to understand the ramifications of this situation and realize it wasn't nearly as bad as my first thoughts had imagined it to be. In the end, once I let go of my perception of the situation, and the resistance, I came to understand there would be a really good outcome in one way that couldn't have happened any other way.

What I am saying is that we have no control over the sudden changes in our life, the blinks if you will. Perhaps we unconsciously created them for a lesson, or perhaps they came to us to direct us on a new path. They might have come to keep us growing as we move forward on our present path, but maybe to let us see things in a new light. If the blink brings something that we like, we accept it much more easily, but if we don't like the blink-of-an-eye change, we resist and fight it. When we fight, we create a battleground. On a battleground there is only chaos, turmoil, anger, fear, pain, defeat or even death.

However, if you accept the changes, even when they don't feel good, and know they are coming for a very specific reason with a gift tucked inside somewhere, you can then become peaceful in the midst of your perceived storm. Life is full of ups and downs, as well as blinks that when you open your eyes reveal a completely different scene than when you closed them a moment before. Do understand this, there is always a bigger picture to what you can see, and even though everything around you appears one way, you might be surprised what the actual reality is. How you see it is solely your choice!

So when you blink and find yourself in a place you didn't imagine before, know it is perfect. Life happens, and whether or not it feels good, it is good. The goodness may not be evident as you're going through the experience, but at some point you'll see that it was all for a very specific purpose. What I have learned along my journey is that everything that appears in my life, no matter whether it feels good or not, is exactly what I need to grow and expand into something more, and is always perfect for my life. My hope is that you too will realize this truth, and accept every blink that brings you the unexpected with grace and peace, because it is exactly what you need at this very moment!