Life Is Easy, Isn't It?
Author: Jerry Lopper

"Life is easy" seems easily understood intellectually. Take what comes along with thanks and gratitude; the circumstances and choices we make are perfect for us. All this feels right when said in a contemplative atmosphere. But after a few doses of life's reality, we have a difficult time bringing "life is easy" to daily application. Loved ones with health problems, layoffs and down-sizing, widespread terrorism, and random killings, all cause us to choke a bit on the phrase.

But is life easy? Well, it can be. Deepak Chopra reminds us that other natural beings simply are who they are. Birds do what birds do, as do fish, dogs, deer, etc. They may be very busy hunting food, rearing young, seeking safety, but they don't seem to be stressed by it all. Grass grows and dies back, only to grow again. Trees grow and spread, drop their seeds, shed their leaves, and grow them again. Don't we all aspire to the easy life? Aren't the benefits of it self explanatory; peace, tranquility, harmony with our surroundings?

Then why is life hard for most of us? What prevents us from sustaining a life is easy belief? Some of the harshness of life stems from our one-dimensional view of success; don't we tend to believe that to have more money, position, power, and friends is to succeed? So we compete for our piece of the pie with everyone around us. Accumulating more, and then protecting it, is hard work. And once achieved, offers little satisfaction, only a temporal glow of achievement until we are compelled to launch another offensive of accumulation. There are flashes of insight when we recognize that this effort isn't satisfying, doesn't bring joy, and doesn't feel right as our purpose in life. But then we tend to fall back into the race and put our doubts behind us. Chasing a goal of accumulation is a lose-lose situation. Those who achieve it join those still struggling, both feeling unfulfilled.

Another reason that life seems so hard to us is that we try to control the outcomes of our endeavors. We take ownership of a specific result, and then when something else shows up we aren't able to see the beauty of it because we feel that we've failed. Renowned author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross tells us "You won't always get what you want, but you always get what you need." Set your goals and intentions, and work toward them, but take what comes about as a perfect gift, just the result your soul requires.

The final obstacle to living the easy life, regardless of income or situation, is that we forget we're immortal. We forget that real life, the life of our soul, is eternal. My present physical embodiment is only one of many. If I don't get it "right" this time I have other chances. It's like getting an infinite number of tries to make a free throw in basketball. No pressure, just keep shooting until you score.

So do you want an easy life? Well, then choose it. Choose to be at ease with life. Set your goals, declare your intentions, but don't own specific results. Take what life brings to you as your rightful gift, the perfect result for you at this time. There was a time when I wanted a promotion to the next management level. I saw that as a way to provide more of the leadership I could give to more people. But it didn't happen, and that was perfect. You see, with hindsight I saw that the brand of leadership I can provide is better suited to the level I already held. And what life did bring me was increasing insight and competence in leadership at that level.

Now it isn't always easy to simply choose to be something. Even though that's the most straightforward way, if a person isn't used to it, isn't confident it can be done, it can seem impossible. A hint from Lou Tice of The Pacific Institute may help. The next time you're in a set of difficult circumstances, the next time life seems very difficult, Lou suggests asking this question, "What would this experience be like for me if life were easy?" If you can see the results that would occur if life were easy you'll be close to accepting that reality as a possibility. Once you can visualize yourself in a situation you're well on the way to achieving it.

In the past I often viewed life as a struggle. And of course, it was because of my belief--just the same as if I prayed for life to be a struggle, just the same as if I affirmed, "I am a person who struggles with life." So affirm that life is easy. See the world around you as a world where life is easy and watch it become easier. And remember that life is eternal. Not everything is riding on your shoulders this one time around.







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About the author Copywrite 2002 by Jerry Lopper. Jerry Lopper is an author, personal coach, and consultant. Visit http://jlopper.home.att.net and http://www.keen.com/CoachJerry to learn more.

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