S^!t Will Happen

A short while ago, a friend of mine posted a meme that read:

Shit will happen. Life will suck.
It’s how you handle it that makes the difference.

This is an age-old lesson, taught by many. The wording is often different, but the message is unmistakable. Maybe because it’s so simple. For me, it was Wayne Dyer’s delivery of it that hit home. I remember him saying something closer to, “It’s not the event that matters. It’s how you process the information ABOUT that event.”

No doubt, some cave man – let’s call him Grogg – grunted out his own version of this meme. “Ungh. Some time saber-tooth tiger eat leg. Ungh! Bummer, if you want it to be.”

OK. To be honest, I’m fairly sure that didn’t really happen. At least in those words. Unless he lived in Southern California, he probably wouldn’t say ‘bummer’.

The most profound lessons are often the easiest to express, and this one is a good example, but I think the biggest piece of it is actually hidden. It’s hidden in the meme my friend posted, and in Wayne Dyer’s words, as well. Even our revered Neanderthal philosopher, Grogg, didn’t meet it head-on.

But, it’s addressed implicitly in every version of this idea, no matter how it’s delivered. It’s the responsibility factor. The person handling/processing/deciding what to do with the information regarding the new experience has a responsibility. It COMES with the choice, and yes, Virginia, the choice has to be made every time; unplug from the Matrix, or keep your head in the sand.

I think this is what trips people up, when it comes to fully accepting the message of this lesson. I’ve written about this elsewhere, but personal responsibility is a double-edged sword. On one edge is the freedom to live life as you wish to live it. The other edge is the burden of making it happen.

Life is easier inside the Matrix; all of your needs are met, and most of your desires. You learn to accept – and be HAPPY with – mediocrity, among other things. When the inevitable SOMETHING happens, you don your Victim hat, put the responsibility – and therefore, the blame and punishment – on someone else, and go back to living your unburdened life.

Until the bubble is popped by some event that is completely of your own making. At which time, you are thrown, kicking and screaming, into the “real” world, where you are forced to accept that the responsibility for everything has been yours all along.

Some people adjust to this more quickly than others. Some never do. These folks refuse to turn in the Victim hat, and end up going down a road of psychological, emotional, and even physical pain and suffering.

I believe that the two primary factors that affect the difficulty of the adjustment are how honest a person is willing to be with themselves, and how introspective they are willing to be. It’s easy to see how closely interwoven (and possibly inseparable) these two things are.

Outside the Matrix, it’s a wild, sometimes scary world, but it’s also exciting, and anything is possible. It’s also not nearly as hard to navigate as it sometimes seems. There are people and resources standing by to help, if we just ask. And the Universe ultimately has your back, regardless.

And, yeah. Sometimes life is going to suck. There are reasons for this, some of which include those big LIFE lessons. But, human beings are driven to understand the Why of things, and outside the Matrix, the REASONS for those lessons can actually be identified and understood. And that is REALLY satisfying. It also takes away the fear that accompanies the unknown.

So, this is my version of the message: YOU are responsible for deciding how you want to look at your experience, whatever that experience might be.