The excursion we experience on planet earth can truly be a trek of trials or an odyssey of opportunities depending on how we look at things.  If you find yourself in pain or distress perhaps these 4 suggestions will help heal the injuries.

Face Your Enemy – The natural inclination when we feel discomfort is to either pull away from it or push hard to resist it.  The many years of torment that I personally experienced taught me a valuable lesson: resisting pain only makes it last longer!  If it’s physical injury or illness, seek out methods for healing that may not have occurred to you before.  If it’s emotional agony, perhaps how we are perceiving a situation is the true cause of that which is grinding against our soul.  Am I in-congruent with what I say and do verses what I believe to be true?

No one is to Blame – Bad things happen to good people and we don’t always have all the answers, nor do we have all the information on why things happen the way they do – they just do.  How many hours or years have some spent blaming others for their dilemma?  There is no one to blame.  The quicker we come to that realization, the faster the festering wound will heal.

Hold No Man Hostage – When we have been wronged the word we resist the hardest is forgiveness.  The person we have the hardest time forgiving is our self.  If only we had done things a different way.  Why didn’t I see that coming?  What was I thinking?  Today is the day to stop punishing yourself.  The very essence of life forgives you daily if not hourly.

When our physical body sustains an injury the cells in your body quickly move into action to repair the cut.  The cells do not discuss who caused the injury and why.  They don’t spend decades blaming the cause of the injury.  They don’t call the other cells and talk about how bad that one cell is who caused the pain, the body simply begins to repair.  What a great example for us to follow!  There is no room for hostages in a heart that needs to heal.

Your Journey Your Way – Think on those words for a minute.  I have observed often times when someone is close to a loved one who is suffering, the caregiver will vilify the disease or circumstances with which they suffer.  Undoubtedly this is done in an effort to defend their loved one who is suffering. I have also seen the great release of stress and anguish come to those who choose to see that no matter what is occurring in one’s life it can truly be embraced as part of their journey.  This is a much healthier perspective, I might say, in order to get through the day and be free of the baggage that would continue to torment us.

If we think of our life as a customized vehicle that suits us perfectly, perhaps that would help.  The type of car I need for my excursions would greatly differ from the truck you might require for moving.  The configuration of the seats in my vehicle would fit my back – not necessarily yours.  The glass I peer through to gaze ahead is clear for me as I embark on the terrain that only I can drive.  The mirrors with which I glance backwards at the life I have lived are adjusted perfectly for me as the driver, not for you as the passenger.  I say all this to encourage you to not judge the journey of another – what they need and desire could be vastly different from what you think they need.  The quicker we release control of the wheel, the better we feel and the suffering will cease.