Let’s say that I’ve got some problem. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not ideal. Let’s further stipulate that, in this case, the problem can’t be solved, the ideal can’t be made reality.
How can I look at this situation most productively? How can I cultivate the serenity to accept this thing that I cannot change?
I had an idea today that caught my attention: I’m grateful for this problem.
Look, everyone has problems. Nothing is perfect. The world is full of suffering, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Expecting every problem to have a solution is folly.
So, if problems are a given and many are catastrophic, calamitous, and downright terrible… then anything that’s just kind-of annoying is a gift! In the problem lottery (everybody wins!), I got lucky.
Not only that, not only is this problem not nearly as bad as 10,000 other things that could be wrong, it’s actually a great opportunity. It’s an opportunity to practice all that I’ve learned!
Let’s say I was a tennis player (I am). I would love to have a backyard tennis court. And if I had a backyard tennis court, I would really love to have a fancy ball machine that fed me all kinds of practice balls: hard flat shots, topspin, slice, short balls… and with unpredictable variety to keep me guessing. If I had a tennis court with that kind of ball machine in my backyard I could work on my tennis game every day!
Got it?
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