Problems?
Who needs them?
However, problems come with the gift of life. They are written into the small, invisible life print that becomes easier to read as we grow and mature.
We hear about problems when we are young, but we do not pay much attention.
Then one day—surprise!
We are introduced up close and personally to problems carrying our own name.
Welcome to life on Earth—for now.
I’LL TAKE THIS PROBLEM ANY DAY
Some people make enormous amounts of money and then complain, with all the concern they can muster, about having to pay taxes on it.
Okay.
I know several billion people who would gladly take that problem off their hands.
Some problems are evidence that something good happened first.
The tax bill may mean you made money.
The sore muscles may mean you exercised.
The difficult conversation may mean the relationship matters.
The responsibility may mean someone trusts you.
The crowded schedule may mean you have opportunities.
Before deciding that every problem is a curse, look at what came attached to it.
WORTHY NOTE: Sometimes the problem is proof that you have been given something worth managing.
LIFE GUARANTEES WHAT?
Life guarantees very little.
However, it does offer liberty, mystery, adventure, and plenty of opportunities for growth. It mixes the good with the bad and invites us to live through both.
Fortunately, we were not dropped into the world completely empty-handed.
We have intelligence.
We have instinct.
We have faith.
We have experience.
We have people who can help.
We have skills that can be developed.
WORTHY NOTE: It just so happens that we possess the capability to solve many of the problems placed before us.
NEW EXPERIENCES BRING GROWTH
Life has cleverly disguised its lessons.
They can be found everywhere, beginning when we get out of bed and start living the day.
A problem appears.
A delay happens.
Someone disagrees.
Something breaks.
The plan changes.
The answer is no.
The person who promised to show up does not show up.
Problems are thrown into the day—but why?
No one wakes up and prays:
“Oh, please, give me a good problem today!”
We do not search for them.
We do not send them invitations.
Yet here they come.
Maybe problems arrive because life is not merely interested in keeping us comfortable. Life is also interested in showing us what we can become.
RESISTANCE EQUALS GROWTH
Suppose a person wakes up one morning and announces:
“I want to become a champion bullfighter.”
What should that person expect to encounter?
Bulls.
Not bulls interested in quiet conversation.
Bulls that fight back—and some will be meaner than others.
That resistance forces the would-be bullfighter to examine the choice.
Do I really want this?
Am I prepared?
What must I learn?
What must I respect?
What can go wrong?
Welcome to Bullfighting 101.
Life works in a similar way.
The moment we choose something meaningful, we also choose the resistance that comes with it.
Want a strong body?
Meet exercise, discipline, soreness, and consistency.
Want a strong relationship?
Meet patience, honesty, forgiveness, and compromise.
Want a successful business?
Meet uncertainty, rejection, responsibility, and risk.
Want spiritual growth?
Meet humility, surrender, doubt, and faith.
We cannot always choose the lesson without also meeting its teacher.
GIVE ME THE MEAN BULLS
The meaner the bull, the more complete the training.
I am not saying we should search for unnecessary danger or invite misery into our lives.
That would be nonsense.
I am saying that difficult resistance can produce well-rounded experience when we survive it, learn from it, and return wiser.
After enough training, the possibility of mastery appears.
The beginner may eventually become the matador.
The student may become the teacher.
The frightened person may become the steady hand someone else needs.
What once intimidated us may one day become the very subject we understand best.
Life gives us opportunities to sharpen, hone, fine-tune, and wield our talents, skills, and abilities.
We discover what we can do.
We discover what we cannot do yet.
We discover what requires more practice.
We also discover what should be handed to somebody better qualified.
WORTHY NOTE: Knowing what to outsource is also a skill. You do not have to personally wrestle every bull in town.
WHY AM I HERE? WHO AM I?
Purpose and identity are not discovered only by sitting quietly and thinking about them.
They are also discovered by living.
Challenges introduce us to ourselves.
Pressure reveals where we are strong.
Failure identifies where we need work.
Service reveals what we care about.
Responsibility shows whether we can be trusted.
Problems ask questions that comfortable circumstances seldom ask:
Who are you when the plan collapses?
Who are you when no one applauds?
Who are you when the answer is no?
Who are you when you must begin again?
Who are you when doing the right thing costs more?
We learn what we are good at, what we can excel at, what requires training, and what we should allow another person to handle.
Life does not reveal all of this at once.
It introduces us to ourselves one challenge at a time.
FALLING AND FAILING
In martial arts, before the first serious contest, you learn something extremely important:
How to fall.
You learn how to absorb impact, protect yourself, roll with the movement, get up, and assume your stance again.
Why begin with falling?
Because if you cannot survive losing your balance, you may never remain in the contest long enough to develop skill.
Is life really that different?
We fall.
We fail.
We get embarrassed.
We misjudge people.
We lose our balance.
We make decisions that look questionable in hindsight.
Then we are asked to rise and assume our stance again.
A person who never learns how to get up becomes afraid of every possibility of falling.
A person who knows how to rise carries a different kind of confidence.
Parents naturally want to protect their precious children from discomfort and harm. That desire comes from love.
However, some lessons arrive with a life price attached.
We can prepare people.
We can guide them.
We can stand nearby.
But we cannot remove every challenge without also removing some of the growth.
Toughening up is required—not becoming cold, cruel, or uncaring, but becoming capable.
WORTHY NOTE: Sometimes things look dark, but then the light gets a turn!
FREE LESSONS THROWN IN
There are times when I can learn from somebody else and not have to pay the full price myself.
Thank you, Lord.
That is a gift in my book.
Someone tells me what happened.
Someone warns me about a road.
Someone shows me the scar.
Someone shares the mistake.
Someone explains what they would do differently.
If I am wise enough to listen, I may receive the lesson without having to repeat the entire experience.
There are also times when another person helps me through a problem.
That is a gift too.
None of us arrived where we are completely by ourselves.
Parents helped.
Teachers helped.
Friends helped.
Strangers helped.
Timing helped.
Charity helped.
Experience helped.
Grace helped.
God helped.
Thank you, everybody.
ALL THE PROBLEMS OF BEING ALIVE
I am glad to report that I have all the problems of being alive.
Read that again.
Some problems exist because I am still here.
I have people to care about.
I have choices to make.
I have responsibilities to carry.
I have a body that requires attention.
I have plans that may or may not work.
I have another day in which something can go wrong—and something wonderful can also go right.
Being alive does not mean being free of problems.
It means being present for the mystery, adventure, growth, love, faith, and opportunity surrounding them.
I have learned to navigate some of these waters.
I have even learned how to rise above a few of the tides.
Am I finished learning?
Hardly.
But start-up is the dicey part.
With time, experience, practice, faith, and a few victories, navigating life gets easier.
Oh, so much easier.
FINAL THOUGHT
A problem is not always proof that life has turned against you.
Sometimes it is training.
Sometimes it is correction.
Sometimes it is protection.
Sometimes it is an invitation to develop a strength you did not know you possessed.
And sometimes—it is simply a problem.
Solve what you can.
Ask for help when necessary.
Learn the lesson.
Get back up.
Assume your stance.
Then continue.
PEARLS INSIGHT
Resilience does not mean avoiding every fall. Resilience means learning how to absorb the impact, recover your balance, and move forward with greater wisdom.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
A connecting lesson found throughout Pearls for the Soul is that life’s resistance can reveal our abilities, strengthen our character, and prepare us to help the next person through the same passage.
PEARLS CONNECTION
What problem from your past helped develop a strength, skill, faith, or understanding that you now depend upon?
RICHIE SPEAKS
I am not searching for problems.
I am not inviting them over for dinner either.
However, when one shows up, I want to look it in the eye and ask:
“What are you here to teach me—and what do I already possess that can help me deal with you?”
That changes the meeting.
FINAL SAY
Problems come with the gift of life.
So does the ability to solve them.
Fall when you must.
Learn while you are down there.
Get up.
Assume your stance.
And remember: sometimes things look dark, but then the light gets a turn!
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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