The disguises of blessings
by Joan Marques
Published on this site: October 31st, 2004
When it rains it pours, they say. And rightfully so. It seldom
happens that one unfortunate event stands isolated. Usually
this mishap is followed by a sequence of other, larger and
smaller, troubles, gradually filling the cup of your endurance
to the point of spilling.
Yet, at a certain point a turnaround happens: As sure as two times
two is four, and as sure as tomorrow will follow today. The interesting
part of this all, is to distinguish two main facts:
- That the mishaps may have occurred to make you more receptive
toward the pending chances.
- That the opportunities offered when the turnaround manifests
itself may not seem all that attractive at first.
Let's analyze the two points made above:
If everything really happens for a reason, then mishaps do too.
They may be meant to make you more understanding toward others in
similar positions in the future, because, by then, you will be able
to say, "been there, done that," and even provide some
suggestions to the others on how to cope with the issue. The troubles
may have also occurred to deepen your sense of empathy in general,
or to guide you into a state of readiness for the changes that are
about to happen, which leads us to the second point:
The opportunities you face after the dark clouds, may be of the
kind that you would not have recognized or valued if everything
had gone smoothly in your life before they occurred. It may, for
instance, be a job that you would not even have considered accepting
in affluent times. However, due to the tightness of the situation
you are currently in, the offer of this opportunity suddenly seems
like a pure gift from heaven. And that would not have been the case
if everything had gone according to your plans in the weeks, months,
or years before.
But since the nature of every experience is determined by your
perceptions toward it, meaning that you see things as positive or
negative, depending on the experiential baggage you carry at the
moment, a previously mediocre perceived job, or ineligible considered
partner, or awkwardly located apartment, may turn into the best
thing that happened to you in a long time.
And although you should still maintain your dreams for a better
life and better chances, you should go for what is generously being
offered to you at this moment, and, where possible, perceive it
as a stepping-stone toward the brighter, shinier future you envision.
Life is an interesting hotchpotch of experiences, and at all times
you will find one scoop to be creamier or leaner than others. In
general, the richness of any dish has the tendency to sink to the
bottom, which means - in the case of life's hotchpotch - that the
more we mature, and the more we consume from it, the fuller the
scoops will seem, and the more we will value every scoop.
Dr. Joan Marques, Burbank, CA, 10/30/04
Joan Marques emigrated from Suriname, South America, to California,
U.S., in 1998. She holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership,
a Master's in Business Administration, and is currently a university
instructor in Business and Management in Burbank, California. You
may visit her web sites at
http://www.joanmarques.com
and http://www.spiritcounts.com.
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