Category Archives: Adversity

Misery is a moment of suffering

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“Misery is a moment of suffering allowed to become everything.”

—Mark Nepo, poet and spiritual adviser

Image from Unsplash by Syed Ali

Mark Nepo is a renowned poet, philosopher, and spiritual teacher.

Earlier in his life he navigated a very challenging cancer journey that transformed his understanding of survival and living authentically.

Diagnosed with a rare form of Lymphoma, his experience with illness led to a deep inner journey and a focus on living fully in the present moment.

This journey inspired him to explore themes of vulnerability, presence, and the essence of life in his work particularly
in this best-selling work, The Book of Awakening, where his healing process encourages readers to find meaning and growth through adversity.

EXERCISE:

In what ways has adversity shaped your life?

How can you separate the moments of misery from the other more positive aspects of living to gain a broader more hopeful perspective as you take on each day?

“So much of the development of mental strength flows from our ability to normalize adversity.”

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“So much of the development of mental strength flows from our ability to normalize adversity.”

—Rohan Rajiv, Author of A Learning a Day Blog

Image from Unsplash by Aziz Acharki

Over the years writing this blog I’ve reference a book titled The Power of Full Engagement numerous times.

A key premise of its content is to expand one’s ability to increase their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energies.

Consider replacing the word energy with strength.

Where are you experiencing adversity in your life?

How are you being challenged and tested in your personal and professional pursuits?

Where are you feeling resistance and a sense of being stretched beyond what’s comfortable?

How do these situations actually increasing your overall strength, capacities, and resilience?

EXERCISE:

Read or re-read The Power of Full Engagement. Consider how normalizing adversity has actually supported your growth and development.

Feel free to reply to this post with some examples from your own life.

Deep roots are not reached by the frost

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“Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of The Rings

Image from Unsplash by Ross Stone

Over the last month, much attention has focused on the many wildfires in Canada and their significant impact on the air quality in many North American cities.

Canada has 28% of the world’s Boreal Zones, which represents 552 million hectares (a hectare is about 2.5 acres or 10,000 square meters). About 75% of this area is forest and woodlands.

Forest fires have a renewal capacity to keep these relatively young forests spanning the earth in other countries including the United States, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and China.

Some additional good news to counter the carbon releasing aspects of these fires is that their roots go deep enough to keep these trees alive through the often-bitter cold winters experienced in these regions. Many bird species and animals—such as caribou—count on this deeply rooted ecosystem to thrive.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life are you deeply rooted?

How does this capacity help you survive and thrive during the burning and frigid aspects of life?

Role models and mentors are flesh and blood representations of what is possible for you

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Role models and mentors are flesh and blood representations of what is possible for you. If they did what they did, you can too.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Eunice De Guzman

In the world of achievement there are plenty of examples of people who have been there and done that. We often view and imbue these people with super-human powers and abilities, and see ourselves as frail and flawed.

When we see people this way, we are almost always missing the full picture.

These individuals stumble and fall like the rest of us. They bleed, they have wounds and scars that often go hidden. What many of them do better and more often is pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and go at it again and again.

EXERCISE:

Interview some of the role models and mentors you’ve had over the years. Pay particular attention to how they managed various types of adversity to become the people you’ve come to respect and admire.