I sent a letter to all of my clients, current and past, to check in with them. To ask them how their hearts are. My heart has been all over the place in this virus experience, from joy to heaviness and everything in between. And still, I feel so much beauty in this process. There’s so much I’m learning about myself. As I listen to people talk about their experience through this pandemic, it seems we have a lot of problems. But what if the only problem is that we think there are problems? What if there are no problems?

I’ve been noticing how often I hear myself say, “the problem is…? Often I’m saying this while in the comfort of my home where I’m safe and all is well. I’m noticing more and more that what I might want to think of as a problem is often just an inconvenience. So, what if I decide there are no problems?

In The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle writes this…

It’s about realizing that there are no problems. Only situations – to be dealt with now, or to be left alone and accepted as part of the ‘isness’ of the present moment until they change or can be dealt with. Problems are mind-made and need time to survive. They cannot survive in the actuality of the Now.”

1999, Tolle, pg.64

I often put it to my clients this way; everything is neutral – everything – until we give it meaning. We make it good or bad, happy/sad, positive/negative, big or small. These are human perceptions and we all see life through our own filters and experiences. What may seem like a problem for you may not be for me and vice versa. Thinking something is a problem doesn’t make it so, it simply makes my experience of that thing a problem. There are no problems. Are you with me?

There are no problems until we make it so.

For example, I don’t see this virus as a problem. I’m wearing my mask in public and doing my part to social distance, yet I see it as a huge gift to humanity. I know this may seem unusual at a time when there is illness and death. I’m not dismissing any of that and my heart is with each one who has experienced this virus first hand and/or lost someone as a result.

Still, I believe this virus is a global pause, one that we have been asking for for a very long time. We’re all tired of our over-scheduled, over-busy, overwhelmed lives and we’ve been complaining about it for years. Maybe not you specifically, yet as a collective we’ve certainly talked about being ‘too busy’ and ‘not having enough time’ with enough energy and attention to bring the world to a standstill. All life is a projection of consciousness.

Do you see how powerful you are?

I also believe this is nature’s way of coming back into balance…notice how much clearer the skies are these days? Nature has no problems, it simply does what it does to maintain harmony with itself. This is our opportunity to come back into balance with our own natural rhythm of life. We are nature too. This is a time of renewal and creating a more loving, compassionate, and harmonious way of living. There is no problem here.
 
This may not be your view and that’s perfect. I respect that. What’s true for you is true for you. I’m not here to agree or disagree, to make anyone right or wrong, or try to change your mind. Nevertheless, it seems to me that we all want to have a ‘good life’ yet we’re so busy turning the experience of life into problems we miss the joy of living in that moment.

Life is not meant to be a suffering contest

We’re not here to prove we have problems, or to compete to see whose problems are biggest, nor did we come here to make life itself a problem. Try this right now. For a moment, bring to mind something you feel is a problem and notice how your body responds, how you feel. Can you feel it sucking the joy from the moment?

Still we want to be ‘good problem solvers’. So good that our problems become part of our identity. To let go of our attachment to problems is to allow our current identity to die – metaphorically speaking – so that we can become someone we are not yet familiar with. It opens up space for us to truly let our light shine from within and this can feel bewildering in a world that would prefer to keep us in the dark. To have courage, to remove the mask, to be who you truly are. (See what I did there?)

Every perceived problem is a gift…through which we can grow.

Now, I’m just curious. Who am I without problems? I find now that when in a situation where the conversation focuses on problems, I have little to say. Likewise, when I’m with people who have little to talk about except their problems I feel exhausted. I’m new at this, being a no problems person…it takes practices. Over time I’ll become more resilient and in the meanwhile, I can remove myself from any situation I don’t want to be in. You can do this too.

What you give your attention to grows

What we focus on and give our attention to grows. Do we want more and bigger problems? Probably not. The more I practice having no problems, the more I find situations resolve themselves with greater ease. Usually in one of three ways.

1. There is an action I can take in the moment and I do, without hesitation. I simply know what to do and do it.

2. There is nothing to do in the moment and I outgrow the situation. In other words, what I let go it’s clear there was never anything for me to do. This reminds me of my mother telling me to leave that little cut alone and it will heal itself. Yep…same thing!

3. There is nothing to do in the moment and something happens that resolves the situation. A client needs to shift her session and the timing is perfect, or someone calls with just the right information and everything unfolds in divine order.

What if the only problem is that you think you have problems? If you decided to be a no-problem person, what would change? Who would you be? More to come as I invite these same questions into meditation and contemplation.
 
Showering you with infinite blessings,

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Photo by Lukasz Szmigiel on Unsplash