Have Faith in Life. Be Patient.

Dealing with Life when 2+2 is not = 4

How do you learn to trust the process of Life?

This question came to me the other day from a reader. The reason why this question even arises in the first place is because we think we have two lives – one that we can control and the other that we can’t; one that we can make sense of and the other that is inscrutable. Nothing can be more untrue. We have just one Life. And that Life is never in our control.

We think we control Life because we are conditioned by our education and knowledge. We have been raised to believe that, in Life, 2+2 is always equal to 4. But, often times, in a myriad hues and contexts, Life keeps reminding us that 2+2 is not equal to 4. It is in these times, when Life defies logic and reason, that we need to trust the process of Life.

To me, trusting the process of Life really means dropping all measurements basis time, money and results. Once you have done that, simply trust whatever is left. Which is, you just have the process of Life, of living, left with you. So, trust it. This is what keeping the faith is also all about.

Take, for instance, the case of someone you love who is terminally ill. Your grief and anguish comes from wanting that this person must not die and from wanting that this person gets well soon without suffering. You are worried and are full of fear; you are willing to spend all the money you have or maybe you don’t have the money. Bottomline you are anxious: you want this person to be cured. So, you see how, the moment you bring time, money and results into the picture, you invite suffering into your Life? Suppose now, you are willing to let go of these three parameters, you don’t mind how long it takes, you don’t mind how much it costs or you don’t worry if you don’t have the money, and you are not clinging on to any expected outcome – that is, you are willing to accept any outcome, how will you be feeling? Simply, will you not be going with the flow? There can be only two possible outcomes in this case – either this person will be cured and revived or this person will, over time, pass on. If you are prepared for either outcome, you are at peace with yourself. Then you can engage with the task of providing physical and emotional support to this person much better than when you are suffering yourself. Being able to live, to function, without being pinned down by time, money and results is what trusting the process of Life is all about.

Every aspect of Nature is a fine example of trusting the process of Life. The trees, the rivers, the mountains, the flowers, the bees, the birds, the fishes, the animals all of them implicitly trust the process of Life. They don’t question. They don’t resist the Life that is happening to them. They just trust. Why can’t we human beings trust Life this way? Surely, we too can. But only if we stop treating Life as our handmaiden, if stop imagining that we control our Life. When you trust Life, even if 2+2 does not add up to 4, you will see beauty there, not imperfection, you will see the magic there and not the absence of logic!