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Turning Left

“The situations we struggle with that are the most difficult for us are also the ones in which we need mindfulness the most.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn


 As Eknath Easwaran says frequently in his talks, pain is necessary for growth. In times of difficulty or uncertainty, spiritual practice becomes a lifeline, and if I allow challenging circumstances to drive me deeper into my practice, rather than away from it, I will be making the most of my pain. Someone told me recently something to the effect that it is not getting an answer that does me good but seeking an answer. The desire and the search are what shape my thoughts, my character, my life. This does not mean I need to spend a long time struggling with, pondering or grasping for a solution to a particular problem. It means I am to remain open, curious, unattached, willing to take the next step in the process but equally willing to find the path blocked and to turn in another direction. As one person, describing their way of discerning God’s will for their life, put it, “Keep walking until you hit a wall, then turn left.”

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