Got sraddhaa? Got Faith?

Unless you've been living under a rock or in Yoga-land, you already know the turmoil our world is in.   Everywhere you look, everyone you talk to there is some drama. The words that come to my mind are upheaval, chaotic, unsettling - just to name a few.  Changes are unavoidable (believe me, I've tried)

Some days it's too scary to even get out of bed because God only knows what's waiting for us when we do. Don't dare turn on the T.V. news!  The newspapers are only good for lining the bottom of your pet's crate.  In yoga class we hear all these fluffy, idealist things about everything being perfect and how all problems are solved with love.  It all sounds so lovely and then you leave the class and the world comes rushing at you.

Yesterday, a client was crying about the current state of her life. Her story was sad but not unlike my own or anyone else's I've heard.  I hear myself telling her "We just have to have faith the things will get better".  She's lost faith she replied.  LOST FAITH!!  That's an scarier thought to me.  Faith, most days, is all we have.  Faith that even though WE don't know the reason for all this upheaval, there must be a grand plan that we just don't understand.

It reminds me about a story I read in the Kundalini yoga book called "The 8 Human Talents".   The story (para-phrased of course) is about a dog and his human.  The human loves taking the dog for long walks, they play ball in the park, they go on hikes.   The dog is happy and he loves his human!  One day the dog injurys his leg.  The worried human takes him to the vet who instructs her that the only way for the leg to heal is to make sure to avoid any strenuous activity.  Only a short walk for the dog to do his business and then rest for 6 weeks.

Suddenly the human isn't taking the dog with her anymore.  No more walks, no more playing ball in the park.  The dog is sad.  He doesn't understand why his human doesn't love him anymore.  He doesn't know that the reason for this "betrayal" is because the human DOES love him and knows that it's ultimately what's best for the dog's future. 

I think of this story often when I start to feel "betrayed" by God.  I don't know the reason for the challenges,  but I have FAITH that whatever I'm going through ultimately, is what's best for my future.  Somehow it makes things a little more bareable when I remember that there is a higher power at work.  I tell myself this is only temporary.  I have faith that since everything always changes. Even the seemingly negative stuff will change too.   Everything is temporary -- the good AND the bad.  Change is unavoidable! -- Thank God!