Sunday, December 22, 2013

There's no such thing as problems, Mr. Green, only situations...

The above quote is from the movie Revolver which presents the constant inner battle we fight with our egos. The main idea behind the film is that serving the ego stops us from being free. According to the ancient texts the ego is the reflexion of what others think of us. As always, it all starts with the body.

The way we look is the first thing people notice about us. Our body language, age, weight, height, facial aesthetics and all other physical details speak volumes about who we are. Both negative and positive physical characteristics of every human play an enormous role during the formation of the ego. However the unfortunate defects we are born with seem to have an extremely negative impact and are often making the ego a source of endless emotional pain.


Life is cruel and there are some things that are really hard to be considered positive no matter what. However, people often confuse problems with "situations". Let's say that you are extremely short - 5'1. Obviously you will never be the next NBA sensation but does this mean that all hope to be an elite athlete is lost? No. Most gymnasts are actually very short since having small levers helps in the sport. If you look at that particular scenario as a situation chances are you will feel better about yourself and experience positive outcome.

In order for a problem to be considered a situation there has to be a certain goal so that all efforts are focused in the right direction instead of just wondering around. When you have a set goal and build a solid plan while taking into consideration all obstacles and disadvantages you can sometimes make a problem turn into a situation with a positive outcome for you. In the above example the goal of that particular person was to be a professional athlete and he/she was able to turn his/her inherited disadvantages into advantages.

It would be foolish to believe however that magic can always happen. It's just not possible. Despite what others say sometimes there is not much you can do. If you are fat you can lose weight. If you are skinny you can gain weight. If you are weak you can get stronger but what if you are a male with extremely disappointing genitalia size? To this day there is not an effective solution to this particular dilemma. What do you do? Similar situations are the hardest to overcome since you just have to accept yourself the way you are without letting others hurt your self-worth because of something you cannot control. If you are able to successfully work in that direction you would be on the road to turning another problem into a beneficial situation that helps you achieve inner piece by teaching you how to accept your weaknesses. All of this can seem to be an impossible task but in times likes this I always remind myself the following quote of Bruce Lee: "A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at."

Maybe one day.

P.S. There are no perfect people! Otherwise make-up companies would have reported bankruptcy a long time ago.