WHAT IS A PROBLEM?

There’s a Zen proverb that says, “You cannot stop birds from flying around your heads, but you can prevent them from making nests in your hair. It’s not about denying ourselves or about not giving in to the temptation of paying attention to them. It’s about discovering who we are. When we do, we evolve and we feel an inner freedom so that these things can no longer distract us.” Our subconscious has stored all of our memories. While these memories are asleep, arranged in our memory bank, they are not a problem. The people that appear in our lives, the visits to certain places or the situations in life awaken these memories. In that way, the memories convert themselves into thoughts and manifest themselves. That’s why it is very important to know that in reality people appear in our lives to give us another opportunity. What is that opportunity? It is to make ourselves one hundred percent responsible and say: “I’m sorry. Please forgive me, for whatever is going on in me that is creating this.” (Ho’oponopono). Have you ever noticed that every time there is a problem you are always there? If the topic had not been inside of you, you would not be capable of perceiving it. Problems are simply a repetition of our memories. They are like information that is recorded on an audio tape. When the tape begins to play, we think it is real. Problems repeat themselves because when they appear, we react and hold on to them. We don’t stop thinking about the problem, and so we get trapped. We attract even more problems, when we could simply choose to let it go. Have you noticed that we only think obsessively when a problem arises? Once this vicious cycle begins, we forget that we have the power to stop the recording. In his article, The Power Of Now, Eckhart Tolle says, “The mind can never find the solution, nor can it permit itself to be found by you, because the mind itself is intrinsically part of the ‘problem’.” Many times the tape is playing but the volume is low. We are not even aware of it. However, the subconscious is always playing the tapes. That’s why it is so important to assume one hundred percent responsibility. Only in that way, do we understand that it is just us and our recordings, our thoughts and our programs. Let’s take the example of a slide projected onto the wall or on a screen. We know perfectly well that, even though we see the image projected on the wall or the screen, it is not there but instead inside the machine. The same occurs with our problems. When they appear, they are only a projection of what is going on inside of us and not outside. Despite this, we spend our lives trying to change the screen. The problem is not “out” there. We are always looking for the solution in the wrong place. It’s very important to remember that the problems, the situations, and the people do not exist outside of us like we perceive them, but that our perception is simply a reflection of our thoughts. The problems are not what we think they are either. We never know what is really going on. The problems are “always” opportunities. We must realize that we have an effect on the event or the problem, and that we have created it. This is, in fact, good news, given that if we are creating it, we can change it without depending on anything or anyone. There is a story that tells that in a village there was a very poor elder, who was envied even by kings for the beautiful white horse he possessed. The kings offered him enormous quantities for the horse but the man would say, “For me he is not a horse; he is a person. And how could a person, or a friend, be sold?” He was a poor man, but he never sold his horse. One morning he discovered that the horse was no longer in the stables. The whole village convened saying, “Stupid old man. We knew that some day they would steal your horse. It would have been better if you had sold it. What a shame!” “Let’s not get carried away,” said the old man. “Let’s just say that the horse is not in the stable. That is the fact. Everything else is your judgment. If it is a misfortune or good luck I do not know, because this is merely a fragment. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?” The people laughed at him. They had always thought the old man was a bit crazy. But after 15 days, one night the horse returned. He had not been stolen but had escaped. And not only that, but he had brought with him a dozen wild horses. Once again the people convened saying, “You were right old man. It was not a misfortune but good luck instead.” “Once again you are getting carried away,” said the old man. “Say only that the horse has returned. Who knows if this is good luck or not? It is only a fragment. You are reading only a word of the sentence. How can you judge the whole article?” This time the village could say no more, but inside they knew that he was wrong. Twelve beautiful horses had arrived. The old man had a son who began to train the horses. A week later he fell off a horse and broke both his legs. The people once again convened and judged. “You were right again,” they said. “It was a misfortune. Your only son has lost the use of his legs, and at your age he was your only support. Now you are poorer than ever.” “You are obsessed with judging,” said the old man. “Do not get carried away. Say only that my son has broken both his legs. Nobody knows if this is a misfortune or good luck. Life comes in fragments, and we are never given more than that.” A few weeks later, the country went to war and all the young people from the village were called to the army. Only the old man’s son was spared because he was injured. The whole village would cry and complain because it was a hopeless war and they knew that most of these young people would not return. “You were right, old man. It was good fortune. Although crippled, your son is still with you. Ours are gone forever.” “You are still judging,” said the old man. “Nobody knows. Say only that your sons have been forced to join the army and that my son has not been forced. Only God knows if it is a misfortune or good luck for this to occur.” When we form an opinion or a judgment, we get stuck; we enslave ourselves. The book, The Teaching of Buddha, says, “He who is influenced by his likes and dislikes cannot understand the significance of the circumstances and tends to despair before them. He who is detached understands perfectly the circumstances and for him all things are new and significant.” Later on it says, “Happiness follows sadness. Sadness follows happiness, but when one no longer discriminates between happiness and sadness, the good and the bad, one is capable of freeing oneself.” Nothing is what it seems. The intellect cannot know. Its understanding is limited. However there is a part of us that does know. The difference between intellectual understanding and that innate wisdom that we have is similar to the one that exists between standing on a chair, looking around and thinking that we are seeing everything, and standing at the top of a mountain and seeing the whole picture. We prefer to talk with our psychologists or with our neighbours instead of talking to God. We have permanent access to all this knowledge, to all this wisdom that is inside of us, but we prefer to stand on a chair and spout opinions, make judgments and express our point of view because that is what we learned to do. We are addicted to this manner of operating. Nevertheless, we can always choose what to do and how to react when a situation appears that we consider problematic. The following story beautifully illustrates this concept: “One day a farmer’s donkey fell to the bottom of a well. The animal cried piteously for hours while the farmer tried to find a way to get him out. Finally, the farmer decided that the animal was old, and that the well needed to be covered up anyway. It was not worth it to get the donkey out. Therefore, the farmer invited his neighbors to help him out. Everyone took a shovel and began to throw dirt into the well. In the beginning, when the donkey realized what was happening, it cried piteously. But after a while, to the surprise of everyone, it calmed down. After many shovels of dirt, the farmer finally decided to look inside the pit, and he was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that fell on its back, the donkey would do something amazing. It would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to throw dirt onto the animal, it would shake it off and take a step up. Very soon, the donkey reached the border of the well and took off with a trot.” “Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is shaking it off, and taking a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!”