Sometimes things break down.
Things do happen according to our plan.
The unexpected replaces the expected.
And now we have to deal with the consequences.
Perhaps we miss an important meeting.
Or we cannot get to our destination in time.
We call everyone we can and ask for help.
Or we might reach out to the people or organizations involved to fix the problem.
That might work on occasion.
Otherwise we could be met with resistance or a lack of understanding.
And end up shouting at some poor representative on the other end of the phone who is just trying to do their job.
So we get more and more frustrated the more we try to find someone who can help us.
For in the end, nothing might work and we are just in the middle of a breakdown.
The anger might well up inside us.
Our voice becomes harsh and biting.
The harder we try to fix things, the further we spiral into a mad rage.
Until we can no longer be heard.
And the situation is beyond repair.
How do we move forward when nothing seems to be working?
Perhaps this is the time to surrender.
To just give up.
And let things unfold however they are going to unfold.
For life continue whether we get what we want or not.
To work on breaking through the breakdown by looking for other possibilities.
For there is never only one solution to a problem.
A transformation of our ideas.
Or of ourselves.
Maybe that breakdown is here to teach us something about ourselves.
About our resilience.
And about our potential.
For we learn more about what we are capable of when we are challenged than when everything is going fine.
And who we are as a person is truly revealed.
We can take the opportunity to be creative and novel.
Or we can let it tear us apart inside and be for ever lost.
The world is not as it once was and even basic things are not as reliable as they once were.
This is the new reality we live in and we must learn to adapt to survive.
So how can we deal with breakdowns being more and more common?
And by being present to the breakdown without judgment or resistance.
For then we can truly access our more creative and inventive sides.
So we can find the solutions we need in the situation.
Even if they are not the solutions we would have chosen to begin with.
For who knows if that solution might not have been the better option all along?
And we can start mastering it by be flexible and adaptable with the little inconveniences we all experience.
That way, when the bigger ones come, we will know how to be.
So we can learn to thrive instead of just surviving through our challenges.
Are you experiencing breakdowns?
Can you learn to surrender to the breakdowns when they occur?
~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant
Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour