Flowology’s Weblog

Living in this world can sometimes be a frightening experience. We need to trust the society we live in, the people around us, the government, the infrastructure, for so many things. We are an interdependent web where everyone’s actions affect everyone else. We need to trust things which are out of our control. As adults, we regain some control over events, but not total control. If we could control every little thing about our lives and our worlds, I am sure we would each made considerable changes: eliminate poverty, improve infrastructure, change political systems, prioritise the environment, and so on. In a world where everything is not ‘perfect’ and everything is not ‘in our control’, we can often question God’s purpose, or the divine plan. ‘Why does it have to be like this? If there is a God, why doesn’t he make it better?’

After thinking about this long and hard, there are two explanations that are beginning to make sense to me (in relation to God or Universal Consciousness or Source, whatever you like to call the divine influence). The first is the situation of free-will. Life forms are endowed with the freedom to make choices. That means that they are accountable for the results of those choices. That is karma and it is something which teaches us to become responsible, knowledgeful and learn the secrets of creation for ourselves. Eventually, we ourselves learn to be in sync with the divine plan, and let the divine force balance the world out through us.

The second explanation is to do with vision. Only the divine Source has knowledge of past, present and future (free-will can change the future and therefore even prophetic souls cannot make definite predictions). If we could make everything the way we wanted, we would choose whatever is best in the short-term, because our perspective is limited to short-term experiences and consequences. Once we let the divine work through us, things start working out for us, but with a view to long-term progress. That’s why Jesus said, ‘Thy will be done.’ He trusted God more than he trusted himself. He knew that God’s plan could cause him difficulty in the short-term, but in the long-term, there would be some benefit. What that benefit will be cannot always be understood at the time that we call on God, which is why we think God does not listen when we pray.

Faith is the act of accepting that we are not always in control, but that there is some divine force looking out for us if we call on it. Faith does not guarantee a pain-free life, it does not offer extra comfort or immunity from danger. Faith is simply love for the divine plan, which we cannot understand but which creates within us an inexplicable wonder. Faith is love for the ways of the divine, which we get glimpses of every now and then, if we pay attention. Faith allows us to become courageous and strong; it allows us to overcome our fears. Faith beckons the divine force to flow through us so that its will can be done.

How many people contemplate suicide at some point in their lives? I have personally thought about it in the past although I doubt I would ever act on it. It comes from the feeling that life is either unbearable or worthless. You get tired of dealing with the same dramas day in and day out and you can see no way out except self-annihilation. There may be an overwhelming sense of pressure in your mind, or self-hate over who you are. But more than anything else, the thought of suicide comes from your own mind and is not dependent on any external reality. People have the capacity to deal with so much if they feel they are internally strong. The feeling that we can’t deal with it shows a lack of faith in one’s self. It’s really important to bring back self-faith and self-respect.

Someone recently suggested to me that in moments of crisis, you have to ‘take a step back’. You have to detach from yourself, come out of your limited perspective and look around. People deal with so much and are still joyful. Life has to end anyway, that’s inevitable, so why not make the most of the short time you have?

If ever you reach a point where you feel you need to end it all, here are a few things to remember:

1. Everything passes, and this too shall pass in its own time.

2. There are people out there who have faced the same thing as you have faced, and have survived to become stronger and wiser.

3. You can’t change everything, but you can change your attitiude.

4. There are people who love you and want you in their lives.

5. Life is already so short, why make it shorter?

6. This is a creative opportunity so let’s not take it so seriously that it becomes unbearable.