Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Solving Problems

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Bifurcation, Chaos, entropy, Problems, Solving Problems, Spiritual, Systems, Transformation

There is nothing wrong with asking for help, but we must remember that our purpose for being on earth is to learn how to arrive at the correct solution to our own problems. We have to write the script and—as well as we can—figure out how to untangle the plot.

Harold Klemp, ECK Wisdom on Solving Problems, p. 2.

Imagine yourself in a boat. You’re enjoying the breeze coming off of the water. You see the sun dance across the surface. Everything is sublime.

You look down and see water coming into the boat through a hole. “Oh, my.”, you say to yourself. Troubles come into our lives unexpectedly. We’re floating along without a care in the world, and then a hole appears, and the water comes flowing in.

Problems in our lives arise this way. Some we can see coming. Others are unexpected. They blindside us.

Sometimes when we solve a problem, we try to bail out the water coming into our boat, hoping we can get rid of the water more quickly than it comes in. This is an example of our “system” trying to rid itself of entropy by getting rid of the excess energy coming into a system. This will work for a while, but we soon conclude that we have put a bandaid on the problem, but not solved the underlying cause behind the problem–the hole in the boat is still there.

Another solution to our leaking boat is to block the hole. This is like blocking out the entropy coming into our system. Here, we pull off our shirt or grab some item we brought with us and block up the hole. Is the hole still there? Yep. This didn’t solve the problem either. The underlying cause is still plaguing us.

Then we finally arrive upon our answer. We let the boat sink and swim to shore. We transform the system by throwing out the faulty boat and learn to swim in the water without a boat.

In the abstract, a problem is entropy throwing our system into chaos. The boat is our system. The hole is the problem. The water is the entropy overloading the system because of the weakness (hole) in it. Subsequently, the chaos overcomes the current system, and it transforms the system to a new and stable one that can withstand the water.

This is how problems transform us. When our lives are calm, we are satisfied and ride the wave of life. When a problem arises, sometimes we can block the problem, run away from the problem, or transform. Blocking or running away are temporary solutions. Transformation is the key. We have to rewrite the code that caused the problem in the first place.

Many of our problems are a disconnect with what is and how we want things to be. It isn’t the situation that is problematic; it is the way we “see” the situation. The problem is internal. Change the way you view a problem, and the problem typically ceases to exist.

I hope each of you has a terrific Saturday!

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Thanks For the Memories—The Good and the Bad…

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BeautyBeyondBones, Calm, Dark Night of Soul, Faith, God, memories, Peace, Pheonix, Transformation

When I think of “Thanks for the Memories”, I think Bob Hope. If you’re too young to remember him, he was an actor and a comedian and did a lot of work with the USO to support our men and women in uniform.

I’m thankful for my memories. There are good ones and bad ones. What I’ve found over time is that the bad ones fade a bit, some even funny, while the good ones just get stronger.

I’m thankful for the bad ones because they teach us so much. I always learn more during the hard times than I do during the easy times. I think this happens because when your survival instincts kick in; you are so alive. Every sense is tingling, your creativity is through the roof.

The most important learning I have gained from the bad memories I have had is that you survived. It was tough. It was hard, but you made your way through it. If you want to read some stories that will just knock you in the dirt, check out my friend’s blog Beauty Beyond Bones.

I have not read her book yet, but it’s on my list. Read through a few of her blog posts, particularly the early ones when she just started out. I don’t want to give anything away, but they are heartbreaking. I’m a sucker for people who have faced this kind of adversity and win. She’s a testament of faith, belief in God, and is just “hard as nails.”

My memories are not as stark as hers, but they are uniquely my own. Each of us when we face those “dark nights of soul” rely on our creativity, our faith, and anything else we can grab onto to pull ourselves out of that deep, dark hole we find ourselves in, when nothing is going right, nothing works, and there appears to be no way out. It takes an iron will to push through these periods in our lives. Slowly, we pull ourselves out.

We are stronger, learn what NOT to do, and we evolve, much like the legend of the Phoenix, who rises from the ashes—renewed. After we’ve endured and recovered from events like these, we are different. We look at life with a new set of eyes. We realize that we are stronger than we ever thought we were.

I’m a firm believer that God never gives us something we cannot handle. God knows us better than we ever will. God gives us these experiences to become stronger spiritually, so we can serve others.

My good memories are always better. You feel them more. The day I proposed to my wife. The day I graduated from college. The day I graduated from Ranger School. My wife and I’s first date. These memories, along with many more, fill my heart with love. All of us have these memories. Hold on to them. They will continue to fill your heart with warmth and a love that is indescribable.

I hope each of you is having a great week. It’s late where I am (around 11:30 pm). I can hear the customary trains coming through town. It’s 27 degrees outside, and all is quiet. My time alone at night is a precious time. During these times I reminisce through all of my experiences, listen to calming music, and thank God for this life. A life that has been worth living, filled with adventure, excitement, fear, pain, boredom, and all the rest. I hope each of you can find a moment or time during the day to reach the same place I find myself every evening. A place of calm, peace, and gratitude for the gift of living.

Thanks for your attention.

Until next time…

Dave