This is sort of a follow-up to the blog I wrote about patience and comparing ourselves to other people. When things don't go our way as quickly as we wish they would or when we see other people seeming to have or be more than we are, it's easy to feel sorry for ourselves. If only things were different somehow, we'd feel better. And I say, "not necessarily."
We can't know our reactions or responses to situations that haven't happened - sometimes we surprise ourselves by being a better or worse person than we thought we'd be. That's why everything that happens in our lives offers an opportunity for growth and understanding. We get the chance to see who we really are.
Although that might read like a call to nobility, it isn't. It's a call to allowing ourselves to be human and spiritual beings having both a human and spiritual experience. And sometimes the human experience just plain sucks. And sometimes the correct human response is to feel sorry for ourselves or to be sad that things are the way they are. Then the nobility and spirituality can kick in and we can move forward.
Yes, saints and other holy people can get there faster than I can and I can get there faster now that I could years ago. I remember something that happened with Paramhansa Yogananda and some of his devotees. He asked them to do something that was very difficult. One of the students said, "It's easy for YOU to do this but not for us - you're a Master." Yogananda raised his voice and responded, "And how do you think I became a Master?"
If you need to feel sorry for yourself, go ahead. Just set a time limit on it, learn whatever is there for you, and then move on. I'll bet even the saintliest among us does that sometimes!
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