With all the changes going on in our world, often it seems that our natural choice is to respond with fear, anger, sadness or the feeling of powerlessness.

From catastrophic world events such as the current oil spilling into waters in the Gulf of Mexico to family matters that have to do with feeding our families, it seems like we are experiencing crisis and challenge with increasing harshness and frequency.

Life is seen as an ongoing hurricane of emotions, financial pressures, and what may appear to be endless evidence of our inability to find peace with our own selves and each other.  Escalating pressures seem to face us more forcefully.  Many turn to addictive distractions in a vain attempt to deal with daily life: drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sugar and carb addictions, reading escapist fiction, and numbing ourselves with mindless television.

Collectively, we are in the process of discovering that these distractions are not worth the price we pay for indulging in them.  After the hangover wears off, the bills still need to be paid.  When the high wears off, the pressure is felt again to either deal with life as it is or to get high again.  Life can become a seemingly endless cycle from anxiety to addictive indulgence to higher levels of anxiety.

For some, dealing with life may not be about addictive distractions as most people think of addiction.  We can let off emotional steam by regularly treating our loved ones in a mean-spirited way, stealing from a neighbor or employer, or finding some other way to artificially feel better about ourselves at the expense of others.

Just living from day to day can become a crushing weight upon your shoulders, a kind of living hell.  You may not feel that you have either the time or the energy to take the steps necessary to pull out of your cycle of pain, to deal with life positively and proactively.

Collectively, we are a society of avoidance addicts.  As we identify ourselves with our ego, the frequency with which we indulge this addiction expands in scope.  It can be seen as a way to self-medicate, a way to deal with the pain so we can feel better.  Whether it is shoveling excess food into yourself, sticking a needle in your veins or getting drunk, the satisfaction of avoiding the life that is yours is always short-lived if you are self-medicating in a way that hurts yourself or others.

What if for just one day you chose to see life in a completely different context.  For the next 24 hours, what if you chose to see everything that occurred in your life as your teacher?   If you look at everything that happens to you for this one day as an opportunity to become a better person rather than as a monstrous weight upon your shoulders, life takes on an entirely new meaning.

For one day, you can choose to respond to the challenges in your life by asking yourself three quick questions when you experience a tough time emotionally.

1. What is happening right now?
2. What emotions am I experiencing?
3. Can I allow these emotions? (Then take three deep and long breaths.)
4. What can I learn from this to enhance my life and to be of service?

By seeing your life as a teacher, you open up new possibilities for yourself.  If you see life as an endless series of burdens, you just create more burdens for yourself.

Viewed from the spiritual perspective---the only perspective that really matters in the long run---we might come to understand after a while that the only reason we are all here is to learn how to love more effectively and consistently.

For just one day, consider carrying these questions with you, giving yourself a little time out just as you would to a misbehaving young son or daughter.  What can we learn about ourselves in claiming this quiet time with ourselves when we ponder life’s challenging moments from the perspective of learning rather than feeling victimized by life?  We learn how to love.  This learning is the process of spiritual empowerment.

Notice how it works when you carry these questions as shown above with you for a day.  You might just find that it serves you to keep them with you beyond just this one day.  As you become more and more willing to be with what is, as you treat yourself more kindly, and as you learn to trust your life as your greatest teacher, you may also find that the world becomes more of a friend than a bully.