Everyone suffers.  It’s easy to think that there are those who don’t.  In Light Upon Light: Inspirations from RUMI, interpreted by Andrew Harvey, a story is told of a king who was granted 400 years of luxury and happiness.  As time passed, the king forgot about and denied his Grantor, and was ultimately cursed.  Rumi considered the painless life a veil between God and human beings.  This glory is in fact a punishment because such abundance causes blindness.  People forget about God until they go bankrupt, lose their health, face the death of war, or their pride causes their downfall.  At this point, one becomes reflective.  Exhausted from efforts to rise above the rubble, one at last turns within.

Similar stories are repeated throughout the Old Testament of the Bible.  God helps the people through a crisis and gives them food, land, and affluence.  Years pass and they grow accustomed to the good life and forget about God.  Each generation grows further and further away from the teachings.  They start worshiping other gods and stop studying the scriptures and honoring their ancestors.  They become self-absorbed.  God becomes angry and takes away His Grace.  The people endure decades of war, famine, subjugation, during which they remember God, cry out, and the cycle starts again.  God has mercy, restores their fortunes, they forget, and hard times return.  I think these stories are descriptions of human life throughout the millennia.  They are meant to guide and teach us.

I can see the described cycles in my own life and the lives of others.  I am much more attentive to my spiritual growth when I am going through difficult times.  In one sense, this is productive.  People and circumstances present themselves to push me towards greater expansion.  On the other hand, growth need not be so full of suffering.  I would like to learn from listening and following guidance, to trust my intuition and my heart, and not be afraid to say no or yes if it feels right.  I would like to be very grateful in the midst of overwhelming abundance instead of being reduced to poverty before I learn how to give thanks at all times and for all things.

I am devoted to physical therapy until the pain goes away.  Then, I don’t have time.  I watch what I eat until I lose weight; then, I go right back to eating unhealthy foods.  Students study to pass the test, to get the grade; then, promptly forget what they learned.

I don’t think we have to suffer as much as we do.  We choose to be satisfied with effects instead of causes.  It’s only when the effects become painful that we start looking for the origins of our particular challenges.   Is it possible that we don’t live happily ever after because our focus is on the transient, the tangible, instead of the eternal, the timeless, and the everlasting?

One of the daily statements in The Abundance Book by John Randolph Price is: “When I am aware of the God-self within me as my total fulfillment, I am totally fulfilled.” My practice is to focus on Spirit.  It’s not bad to want money, loving and considerate companions, and optimum circumstances.  However, we must be clear that these are effects and consequences of a primary consciousness of Spirit.  God is love, positivity, kindness, understanding, abundance, and compassion.

It’s like swimming.  If your body is not correctly positioned, you are creating drag and cannot move forward with speed and endurance.  You’re basically fighting the water.  Likewise, every thought and desire made within the awareness of the infinite goodness and abundance of Life will manifest with less struggle and suffering.

I, for one, am tired of learning my lessons by butting my head against the wall.  I’m ready to try a new (but very ancient) way.  How about you?