It’s in the darkness that I am most able to appreciate the value of light. It’s in the extreme contrasts that the true value of things become apparent and it seems a hidden purpose of life to reveal such things through our most profound struggles. The real problem is that we become fixated on the struggle and not on the exquisite clarity that exists at its side.
How does one make that pivotal shift in perception that is required to awaken to that illumination? Some will say “acceptance” and that is correct, partly. Let me explain: acceptance means you are no longer resisting the struggle and already you will begin to gain a new perspective but in order to derive maximum insight one must also be clear on the emotions that you have experienced as each emotion is a signpost that is there to guide you to the resolution of that which has caused your suffering.
So, acceptance, is the first step, the part of the process that allows you some objectivity from which to move to the next crucial step which is to examine your feelings and so attain a lucid perspective that will guide you to final resolution. Both steps can be combined by simply employing the power of asking quality questions: “What else could it mean?”, “What is the empowering lesson that my hurt is trying to teach me here?”, “How will my anger serve me or do me a dis-service here?”.
The goal is to tap into your emotions as a source of valuable information as your emotions are your internal guidance system, your internal compass that if engaged in this way can serve the quality of your experience of life immensely. So, as much as the struggle is sometimes the darkness and the accompanying feelings seem to deepen that, the emotions are actually the sparks that seek to guide you to the light.