Every Experience is an Opportunity

by Christina Grant, PhD

 

Recently I had worked myself into a fury over a neighboring dog that barks incessantly at random times during the day. I allowed the irritating yap to grate on my nerves to the point that I wanted to scream out, “STFU!” I also made up all kinds of stories about the “irresponsible” owners of this dog. How could they let it bark for hours on end? How could they not take better care of it? What kind of people would let a dog disturb the neighborhood in such a way? What is wrong with these people? Grrrrrr!!!

 

Then one day, rather than hearing the familiar bark from its usual location, I heard it coming down the street. “Someone is walking that dog,” I thought as I rushed to the front window to get a look at it and its “careless” owner. To my utter surprise, there was an old, sweet-looking dog happily lumbering along wearing a vest that said “Blind Dog.” An elderly man followed it, somewhat precariously, holding a leash connected to the dog’s collar. Behind the two of them walked an elderly woman, a smile on her face. The dog barked its bark as it went past. At the sight of this, all of my animosity and stories and upset simply melted away. 

 

Along the soul’s journey toward wisdom, we will be called upon to come to terms with judgments, obsessive thoughts, and criticisms about others, whether they are family members, partners (or former partners), friends, colleagues, or neighbors. 

 

This journey, although not sexy or popular, is a high spiritual quest that asks us to begin to oversee our own inner world, including our responses to the way we’ve been treated by others as well as our perceptions about the world around us.

 

As an intuitive counselor, I have seen time and again that when we humans are caught in a painful mental loop, the way out is through understanding. If we can be open to a change in our perception about something or someone, then healing can happen. As soon as our blind spot is illuminated, in a split second we are capable of letting go of whatever pain we harbored and we can move into greater wisdom and compassion.

 

Sometimes all it takes to release ourselves from negative reactions or emotions is to be open to being surprised, to be willing to be wrong, to be aware that on our spiritual path we will be shown to be a fool many times over. To be humble about this, and perhaps even find the humor in it, is an added blessing. 

 

Christina Grant, PhD is an intuitive counselor, astrologer, and energy healer who works by phone. Learn more and contact her at www.christinagrant.com.