By Marcia Bender
Most of our lives contain difficult periods that seem almost unbearable. As humans, we go through many changes in a lifetime, and some of these transformations are more profound than others. Indeed, change is never easy, and often it is traumatic.
People frequently find themselves sitting across the table from me seeking counsel during a time of major transition and, as a student and teacher of metaphysics for more than 50 years, I have come to understand that we all must learn certain lessons in a lifetime—many of them unpleasant Karmic lessons that we have agreed to experience before incarnating. It is the manner in which we choose to deal with these lessons that will either help or hinder our ability to move forward. While I cannot change people’s Karmic circumstances, I can offer some valuable advice on how to cope with these situations.
Find Your Tool.
There are many metaphysical tools that, in the hands of a “master,” can help us to deal with the ever-changing aspects of life. These include Rune Tiles, I Ching coins, and the Tarot. Higher Forces want to communicate with us and proper knowledge of these spiritual “tools” will help us to understand how to deal with our issues with balance and acceptance. It doesn’t matter which tool you use, but you must master it for optimal guidance. Personally, I use the Tarot—one of the most powerful spiritual tools—to gain wisdom, self-guide, teach others to self-guide, and offer counsel.
Listen to good advice.
While the Tarot and other “tools” of divination are important resources when I seek and offer guidance, much of the advice that I am able to share with people is based on what others have taught me—words of wisdom that I have integrated into my own life and try to live by when going through difficult times of stress and change. This is not deep or profound knowledge gained through years of metaphysical and spiritual study; this is useful advice gained through many years of living on earth and the good Karma of being exposed to some truly amazing individuals on my journey.
I often tell people: “When life hands you a lemon make lemonade!” Well, we all know that some of life’s lemons are a lot harder to taste than others. I will ask you to try the following exercise the next time the lemon is particularly sour.
Take a deep breath and repeat these words: “In 100 years this situation will not matter.”
Now think about this statement. One hundred years from today, no one will care about what was causing you grief and unhappiness. I began to ponder this a long time ago, based on something my mother once said to me. One day she was dusting a room in our family home, a bit carelessly in the opinion of the know-it-all teenager I was. I looked at her and said, “That will not pass the white glove test.” She simply replied that the missed dust would be there a long time after she was gone, as in when she was no longer in a physical body, and nobody would care 100 years from now.
Embrace and learn from parables.
Get ready for my favorite parable of all time. To understand this story, you first need to know about the very wise man who taught this lesson to me: Cantor Morris Bosch. The father of my first husband, Morris found the good in everything and everyone; he truly lived by The Golden Rule. If five people came to his door (and they often did in the depression years because he owned a little grocery story) and these five people said that they were hungry, even if he knew that four were impostors he would feed all five to make sure he helped that one who was hungry. Besides being a kind and Godly man, he also gave good advice—even when advice was not sought.
As a young woman, this advice sometimes would “get on my nerves” when it was directed at me. On the other hand, I found it wonderful and profound when directed at my young son. One of the things he used to say to my son was,
“Think twice and speak once.”
I often tell that one to people I work with when the Higher Forces are advising them to “keep a quiet counsel and be careful to whom they speak and what they say.”
Now for that story…Let me paint a worse-case-scenario for you. You have just been hit by a large truck and are in the intensive care unit of the hospital, wrapped in bandages, with tubes going in and out of your body, conscious enough to be in such pain that you are afraid that you will die and more afraid that you won’t. Morris comes through the door. He looks at you and asks, “How are you?” You muster all your strength and tell him that you have never in your entire life been more miserable. He ponders and pauses, sighs, and then says,
“IT COULD BE WORSE!”
No matter how much I disliked that statement, Morris was right: It ALWAYS could be worse! His words of wisdom make me think of another ancient saying, “I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.”
The purpose of this chapter is not to undermine the trials and tribulations that we must endure in a lifetime, nor to make light of them. The problems that we have to work on and live through are often really tragic and affect the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual cores of our being. However, one thing is certain—and this is wisdom I have gained over the years of living my own life and counseling thousands of other people—being miserable and depressed does nothing to cure a problem. It is always guaranteed to make the problem much worse.
So the next time life hands you a lemon, remember IT COULD BE WORSE! Then focus on changing your perspective, seeking Higher Guidance, and listening to the wise counsel and parables of those who are traveling a path of love and light.
And remember, Knowledge is the Greatest Power, so Walk in the Light.
Marcia began her career as a school teacher, working with preschool through inner city high school students. She has worked with all aspects of Metaphysics for over 40 years and specializes in Tarot and Numerology. Marcia’s clients and students are in every state and throughout Europe. Marcia has taught over 400 students to “read” the Tarot for the purpose of self-guidance and to use the powerful symbolism of the Tarot to reach higher levels of spirituality. Her column, Spiritually Speaking, originally ran for 8 years in Attitudes Magazine. Email marlou2000@aol.com
This article is an SNEAK-PREVIEW from the to-be-released book Transform Your Life! Inspirational Stories and Expert Insights, written by 60 real-life heroes and experts and available at www.Transformation-Publishing.com, Amazon.com, BN.com, and all ebook formats.