Daily Meditation

Adversity Introduces a Person to..- Daily Meditation 10.4.23

Today’s quotation:

Adversity introduces a person to him or herself.  On the occasion of every accident that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use. -Epictetus

Today’s Meditation:

“Turn to yourself and inquire what power you have.”  Those are extremely strong words and great advice for us in many situations.  So many of us are willing to give up in particular circumstances without ever trying to dig inside and find out what we have that will help us work our way through them.  We do have great powers inside ourselves, but they often lay dormant for years–or forever–because we never try to tap into them.  Adversity can be an excellent catalyst for getting us to discover some of the amazing powers inside us.

That doesn’t mean we always have to do things alone.  Asking for help is an entirely legitimate strategy for dealing with many things that life throws our way, and when we do so it’s usually beneficial for both us and the people helping us.  We weren’t put on this planet alone, and it doesn’t make sense to try to make our way through everything on our own.  But when adversity strikes, sometimes the best strategy we can employ is to find out what we can do on our own and what kinds of ways we can use our strengths to deal with adversity.

We spend much of our lives trying to avoid adversity, but when we do so, we’re letting our fears dictate our lives and actions.  We all have some of that fear that when trouble strikes, it will overcome us and that we won’t be able to deal with it.  Adversity is scary that way.  But the truth is that we’re almost always able to make it through, and when we do, we’re stronger for the experience and wiser for what we’ve learned from it–or despite it.

While I don’t know that I’d call adversity a “friend,” per se, I do know that it has helped me an awful lot to learn and grow as it’s come into my life in many different forms.  When adversity does rear its head and say, “I’m here,” perhaps we should respond, “And what lessons do you bring to me?” rather than, “Oh, no–stay away!”

Questions to consider:

What are some important lessons that you’ve learned through adverse situations?

Why do we so often fear adversity?  Will it expose our weaknesses or our strengths?

In what ways can we search for adversity in somewhat “safe” ways to help ourselves grow even more?

For further thought:

There’s a tremendous amount to be gained through what appears to be adversity.  If we don’t allow the crisis these challenges to take place, then we remain fixed in life and never really ripen or mature. -Thomas More

If you missed our last Daily Meditation, it is here.

adversity introduces

BeckyWillis

BeckyWillis is a "glass is half full" type of person, so she decided that she would share that with others. After going on 15 years in the blogosphere she decided it was time to make a change and in doing so help uplift others. Her husband is her biggest cheerleader; you can visit his site at https://lifeasrog.com.

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