Problems…
who needs them?
Apparently, anyone who signs up for LIFE.
The fine print gets clearer as we grow.
Problems.
Who needs them?
And yet…
they seem to come with the gift of being alive on this Earth.
Maybe they were there in the small invisible print all along.
As children, we hear about problems.
We hear adults talk about them.
We watch people deal with them.
But most of it stays somewhere in the background.
Then one day…
life brings one right up to your front door.
Now it is personal.
Now it has your name on it.
And before long, you become acquainted with YOUR particular set of problems.
Welcome to the process.
I’LL TAKE THIS PROBLEM ANY DAY
It reminds me of people who make enormous amounts of money…
and then complain with all the zeal they can muster about the taxes they have to pay.
Okay.
I understand nobody enjoys paying taxes.
But I know several billion people who would gladly take on the problem of making enormous amounts of money first.
LOL.
Some problems arrive because something GOOD is happening.
More responsibility.
More success.
More opportunity.
More growth.
Life guarantees very little.
But it certainly gives us:
liberty,
mystery,
adventure,
opportunity,
and plenty of chances to grow.
The good and the bad seem to travel together.
NEW EXPERIENCE BRINGS GROWTH
I remember wanting an education and enrolling in college.
At first, it is exciting.
Interesting.
Stimulating.
Then you hit the first hoop.
The first wall.
The first difficult assignment.
The first moment when you ask:
WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?
There it is.
The lesson inside the lesson.
Life has cleverly placed education almost everywhere.
You get up.
You go about your day.
And somewhere along the way…
something resists you.
Something does not cooperate.
Something needs solving.
Something needs learning.
Problems are thrown in.
But why?
RESISTANCE EQUALS GROWTH
Think about someone who wakes up one morning and decides:
I WANT TO BECOME A CHAMPION BULLFIGHTER.
What exactly are they expecting to encounter?
Bulls.
And not cooperative little bulls carrying thank-you notes.
LOL.
Bulls that fight.
Some meaner than others.
Now the person has to ask:
Do I really want this?
Am I prepared?
Can I learn?
Can I handle what comes with the choice?
That resistance forces examination.
And if the person continues…
BULLFIGHTING 101 has officially begun.
GIVE ME MEAN BULLS
The tougher the bull…
the more complete the training.
At least symbolically.
Because greater resistance exposes more.
Timing.
Courage.
Skill.
Judgment.
Patience.
Weakness.
Fear.
Discipline.
And after doing this enough times…
a new identity appears.
MATADOR.
The person did not wake up with mastery.
The road prepared them for it.
Life works the same way.
We sharpen.
Hone.
Fine-tune.
Test.
Correct.
And gradually discover what we can do…
what we cannot do…
and what we still need to learn.
PAUSE FOR CAUSE.
A problem is not always proof that something is wrong.
Sometimes it is proof that something is being developed.
WHY AM I HERE?…AND WHO AM I?
It is often through living life…
and facing its challenges…
that we begin discovering:
purpose,
identity,
strength,
weakness,
talent,
limits,
and what we are better off outsourcing.
You do not always learn who you are during the easy days.
Pressure reveals.
Challenge reveals.
Responsibility reveals.
And failure reveals quite a bit too.
FALL OR FAIL AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE…BUT GET UP AND COME BACK
In martial arts, long before the first serious fight…
you train.
You practice.
You condition.
And one of the most important things you learn is how to FALL.
Why?
Because if you cannot take:
the punch,
the kick,
the loss of balance,
the mistake,
the knockdown…
and then recover…
you will not last long.
Life is no different.
You fall.
You learn.
You get up.
You assume the stance again.
That is resilience.
Not never falling.
Getting back up with more knowledge than you had before.
THE PRICE OF LEARNING
Every parent wants to protect their child.
That is natural.
But not every discomfort can or should be removed.
Some lessons come with a price.
A scraped knee.
A disappointment.
A consequence.
A failed attempt.
A mistake.
Those experiences can become teachers.
The goal is not to throw children into harm.
The goal is not to protect them so completely that they never learn how to recover.
Life requires practice.
FREE LESSONS THROWN IN
Now here is the good news.
Sometimes you do not have to pay the full price.
You can learn from somebody else’s experience.
That is a gift.
Someone warns you.
Someone teaches you.
Someone helps you.
Someone says:
“I already stepped in that hole. You may want to walk around it.”
Excellent.
Take the free lesson.
LOL.
And sometimes someone simply reaches over and helps you back up.
That is a gift too.
After all…
did any of us get this far entirely alone?
I doubt it.
Somebody taught us.
Fed us.
Encouraged us.
Corrected us.
Opened a door.
Gave advice.
Gave us a chance.
Thank you.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Here is one Richie rule:
Do not ask for a life with no problems.
Ask for the strength, judgment and skill to handle the ones that come.
Another:
A fall is information.
Staying down is a decision.
And one more:
The problem may be teaching you something about the problem…
but it may be teaching you even more about YOU.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
From the spirit of Pearls for the Soul:
“Adversity does not always arrive to defeat you. Sometimes it arrives carrying instruction.”
From the spirit of God I AM:
“What is within you often becomes visible only after life gives it something difficult to answer.”
From the spirit of It Is Finished:
“Fall if you must. Learn what the ground had to teach. Then rise differently.”
PEARLS INSIGHT
Problems are an unavoidable part of living, but they are not all the same.
Some are preventable.
Some are consequences.
Some are random.
Some come with growth and responsibility.
What matters is how we respond.
Challenges can develop resilience, judgment and self-knowledge when we examine them honestly and learn from them.
The goal is not to romanticize suffering.
It is to refuse to waste what difficulty can teach.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects directly with NAVIGATING THROUGH THE STORMS OF LIFE.
Storms are part of the journey.
The skill is learning how to steer.
It also connects with THE LEARNING CURVE IS PERSONAL.
Every problem becomes part of a different learning curve for each person.
And PROBLEM SOLVING…SLAY THE DRAGON NOT THE PEOPLE reminds us that once the problem arrives, the best use of energy is solving it rather than attacking everyone nearby.
FINAL SAY
I am glad to report…
I have all the problems of being alive.
Yes.
And thank GOD too.
Because the alternative would mean the journey is over.
So while I am here…
let the lessons come.
Let the opportunities come.
Let the resistance come.
Let the free lessons come too.
I will fall sometimes.
Fine.
I will get back up.
I will learn what the problem had to teach.
I will discover a little more about who I am.
And I will keep moving.
Because problems may come with life…
but so do strength,
growth,
help,
adventure,
and another chance tomorrow.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you