"Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune."
If you've spent any appreciable time on Mother Gaia then you know, life is going to take all sorts of unimagined twists and turns and often times, with little or no warning.
I used to think at times this was the Universe, God or life itself, "punishing me." I know longer believe this at all. In fact I believe what could be considered the opposite. God, Creator, Great Spirit (insert the name that works for you) wants each of us, to "be all that we can be." (no this isn't that lame promotion to join the army) - if that is your passion, then do what you will. I will continue to envision a world, that makes armies & war redundant.
There's an old saying: "A ship is safe in the harbour, but that's not what ships were built for" Somewhere in the windmills of my mind, there is a reference to, any ship's captain worth their salt, having been tempered far from shore (likely in variations of rough seas). I can't remember nor find it, but you get the idea.
So I don't strictly speaking, believe in a heavenly presence - that arbitrarily chucks shit at me, just to shake things up. Nor do I believe that God will prevent me, from experiencing the various snarls and tangles along my path. In many cases, I have made choices, that put me on course for a mighty pratfall. It is through navigating these challenges (created & "arbitrary") that a greater array of inner qualities become honed.
So rather than consider that a "Loving God" - wouldn't let anything happen to me; consider the "character building" that is allowed to develop through adversity. I can assure you, I'd likely have developed no backbone at all, if everything was just continually handed to me on a platter. Maybe there are those that began on the "straight and narrow" and stayed there - good on ya! I strayed pretty much everywhere else - it wasn't until I felt the full frontal attack, of the "err of my ways," that it "occurred" to me, it was necessary to chart a new course. It's nothing short of a miracle that I survived my choices.
Desiderata refers here, to something a kin to "money in the bank." A reserve of sorts, that is there before the shit hits the fan. How would one go about "nurturing" that? Well, you can't necessarily foresee what inner qualities might be required. However, many of these qualities are "transferrable skills" - so consciously go out and challenge yourself under shall we say, "controlled conditions." (the only control being; you set out to face yourself, in what you knew in advance, was approaching the outer limits of your comfort zone).
My experience is, in such arenas there exists for me, ample substance for personal growth. If I close the curtains and hide under the blankets (and I have) while there might be a place for "rest" or revitalization; hiding from my challenges (which is futile anyway) cannot begin to foster, any resilience. What ever the challenge be (known or unknown) chosen or not; to get through it, never mind what the out come might be, getting through - pays dividends in confidence building. Of course you won't ever necessarily encounter, that exact same challenge again - but you might. Nevertheless, it's useful to be able to say of a current challenge, I've been through far worse than this!! I don't like this, but I can handle it.
I'm not advocating a "me against the world" posturing - everyone can use some support at one time or another. However, even still, one must find it within themselves, to bring the ship back to the harbour.
Sometimes (often times) at least based on my experience, I might have no idea how to bring the ship around or even where the damn harbour is - this is when it is particularly good, to have exercised some development of trust and faith in Spirit.
Some of my greatest "victories" I have no idea how "I" did it - oh sure, I participated but I know I can't take all the credit.
R. O'Neill (June 27, 2018)
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