Sweetly Seeking
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • COACHING

Friday Favorites...The Life of Obstacles

6/24/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
The Life of Obstacles by Mark Nepo
"In life, obstacles are teachers. This is hard to accept, especially when we're in the midst of troubles. There is no escaping difficulty, though, because difficulty is always a part of our experiences. It's how we hold the difficulty that lets us move through it. The deeper way to uncover any experience is not trying to analyze it, not trying to sort it or to decode it, but to take very small steps to let it in, to let it work us and to see what's there right before us. Because often, that's where the simplest teachers present themselves. 

So when you're stuck, be with the stuckness until it starts to dissipate. It's the cloud in the way. The question is, What's on the other side of the cloud? There is no shortage of doorways through which the majesty of life presents itself. Given this, we're constantly asked to be with what's before us till it reveals itself and to enter the conversation that difficulty opens. When things go wrong, we need to see through our confusion and pain and ask, "What is this obstacle trying to teach me?" When things don't go as planned, we need to put down the plan and enter the terrain of things as they are. Once there, we can begin to help each other take the next step. 

All this brings us to the art of taking small steps, the practice of which comes from another part of the world. When in Brazil, my friend David encountered the phrase E daí (ay-die-ee), which is Portuguese for "And then?" Regardless of the story told or hardship conveyed, the custom is for the listener to ask after a while, "E daí?" with a tone that implies, "And so? What now?" Literally, e is "and" and daí means "from there, from a place near you," as in, "What is just beyond where you are?" or "And so, what is your next step?" 

The phrase E daí invokes three successive meanings, often asked as three different questions by the one who will hear you out. First: "I hear what life has given you. E daí? And so, what does this matter? What does this mean?" Second: "I see where you are. E daí? And so, from there, what is in front of you? What is just beyond where you are?" And third: "E daí? And so, what now? What is your next step?" 

May You Sweetly Seek:)
In Gratitude, 
​Sarah 



1 Comment
lexie
6/26/2016 10:15:26 am

POWERFUL!!! "When your stuck be with the stuckness until it dissapates" woah! Thank you for that. 🙏

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Picture

    Hello Friends!

    I'm Sarah, a Capricorn girl, seeking inspiration, beauty, travel, and Samadhi through an inspired life. One of my most treasured passions is writing, so it is my hope that this blog serves as an outlet for my passion as well as inspiration for the readers of it! May you be curious, kind, and fearless as you wind through this journey called life.  Enjoy the ride as you Sweetly Seek!  (Read my story).


    Picture

    Instagram Posts

    Tweets by @SweetlySeeking

    Archives

    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All

BLOG
ABOUT
CONTACT

Picture
Earthy Girl...Whimsical Musings...Inspired Life!