Hitting the panic button
Most of us take success in life as our right and a result of our abilities. When, through our struggles and efforts, we achieve what we want, we feel secure, peaceful and successful. We believe we are in control.
With life going through its course without incident and while we reap the benefits of our success, we are lulled into a false sense of security. This feeling of being in control encourages arrogance, and the more life goes our way, the more arrogant we become. In our minds we become invincible and indestructible, masters of our fate, able to ward off pain, tragedy or loss. And eventually, we forget ourselves and lose hold of reality.
This situation can last for some time until a condition happens that shakes us from this dream like condition. It could be a natural disaster, disease, financial problem, fight, major lifestyle change, robbery or the loss of loved ones.
When an anomaly like this happens, we hit the panic button.
“This isn’t supposed to happen!”
“Why now? Why here? Why me?”
… are perhaps our first reactions when we are unprepared. When comfort is stripped away from us, we fall victim of sadness, misery, worry, fear and despair. Upon waking up to the reality that we have no control over these monumental changes, we feel angry, weak, unstable, and worried.
We panic because a situation has occurred which was beyond our control or even prediction.
We panic because all along, we have forgotten that as human beings, none of these changes are under our control and there is nothing we can do about them.
Welcome to reality!
Can anyone dispute the statements below:
We are weak and limited.
Our future is volatile.
Our lifespan is uncertain.
We are not where we imagined we would be ten or even five years ago.
Can we really control our destiny, and can we plan the future the way we like?
If we believe we can, then anytime we have a mishap, natural or financial disaster or any major change in life, we are unable to cope with the new reality of our lives.
Whereas in truth, this constant change is the actual reality of life!
The problem arises when we believe that we are immune these changes and somehow they will not affect us. When we are in this state of mind, we forget the truth and are in a state of illusion and self deception.
When things go well and work out as planned, we are drugged by the high speed life and its many superficial attractions to the point we forget…
Who are we?
Who is controlling our lives and our future?
Where are we headed?
What is the purpose of our lives?
These are very simple questions which majority of us have never even given a thought to.
In the pursuit of our career, lifestyle and luxuries, we fail to ask ourselves the very basic yet essential questions. When life becomes too comfortable, we feel insulated from reality, and we fail to prepare ourselves for hardships which hit us once in a while.
The reality is that a single stroke of fate can snatch away what we have in an instant.
At such times, when we are faced with the reality of life, all of our worldly achievements become meaningless and maybe even a cause of emotional agony.
