When Life Is Not Working

We all want to live lives filled with joy and satisfaction, to be fulfilled and go from triumph to triumph.

We recognize that challenges teach us important lessons. We recognize we will be able to look back on these struggles with gratitude. What we really want to is to have already learned the lessons and be beyond the challenges.

We want the assurance that life will work the way we hope it will.

We read books and see movies that tell us, over and over again, our lives will work. We love Julian of Norwich, who said that “All shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well.”

We wait as patiently as we can, hoping it will not be too painful, nor take too long, for our lives to work out well.

What can we do besides work hard, follow the rules, and wait for things to work out for good?

I believe in finding the passion in my heart’s deepest desire and working to put them into practice. At the same time, I know that not all the people who really want something will make it happen.

I know people who have worked hard for a long time, but never gotten where they so desperately wanted to go.

For a long time, my reality was that life was not working the way it was supposed to work.

Deciding what to do when life does not work takes a lot of time and effort. It is hard work. Encouragement and support make a real difference. Finding someone who will listen, ask insightful questions, and help you laugh is a big step. That is the work of a strategic monk.

What do you do when life is not working?

How will you decide where to go next?

[Image by HockeyholicAZ]