Some of us tend to think of life as a line. We are born, go through various experiences both positive and negative, and die. That’s the end. But is that how things work?
We can also look at life as a spiral. And if you think about it, you may realize that certain themes and patterns seem to reproduce themselves time and again, in a somewhat altered form.
That doesn’t mean that things don’t change—they are changing every moment of every day.But certain common themes and patterns recur.
If we can recognize the patterns, we can choose how to deal with them. Looking back at your life, you may notice that how you are feeling now, the challenges you are confronting now, are similar to ones you’ve met in the past.
But since you have changed and learned from the past, you can address these challenges in a different way today.Suppose you are experiencing a particularly stubborn problem, one that has plagued you before.
You can think, “This is always happening and there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it.” Or, you can think, “Oh, here is this problem again. What might I do differently this time?”
Even if you don’t have the answer, you have become aware that this is a pattern, and not just an unfortunate incident. It is part of your pattern. And that’s the way it’s meant to be, because it’s something you need to learn how to deal with.
The only way we can rise to higher levels of consciousness is by noticing when persistent issues arise and taking a fresh look at them.
If in the past you tended to blame yourself for every mistake, then this is a time to develop greater self-compassion.
If in the past you blamed others, then this is a time to practice forgiveness and personal responsibility.
If in the past you felt that nothing could ever change, then now is the time to remember how you’ve overcome challenges before.
You can notice what you are feeling inside, how you are reacting. Calm your breathing, do some walking or sitting meditation, practice mindfulness, write what you are experiencing and see if you gain any new insights.
Instead of thinking of life as a line, think of it as a spiral. Instead of measuring your life in terms of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years, think of it as a continual deepening into your true nature, which is free of time and judgement.
The energy which animates your body is infinite. You have all the time in the world to become all that you can be, in this life and the next.
“Life is a journey up a spiral staircase; as we grow older we cover the ground we have covered before, only higher up; as we look down the winding stair below us we measure our progress by the number of places where we were but no longer are. The journey is both repetitious and progressive; we go both round and upward.”
—William Butler Yeats