Why do we find so much unhappiness in our lives today? Is a daily dose of pain necessary? Are our various heartaches, fears, and frustrations an inescapable attribute of life? Or, are these dark moments unnecessary ones, and just shadows of our misunderstanding about what is possible in life and what is not?
While each of us does have the power (in one way or another) to do as we wish when we wish it, there are things in this life that cannot be done... and it is our continuing attempt to do these things that produces much (if not all) of our everyday unhappiness -- an unhappiness that we erroneously blame upon others and circumstances in life.
Here are just ten small places in our lives where we are trying to do the impossible -- struggling to do what cannot (and need not) be done -- and where, because of our misunderstanding, we unknowingly hurt ourselves.
10 Causes of Needless Heartaches
It is impossible to...
make others see where they have made a mistake.
be carried to a secure and peaceful harbor on a ship crafted by anxiety or fearful feelings.
gain real happiness at the expense of the pain of someone else.
elevate yourself by pushing another person lower.
take advantage of others without living in secret fear of them.
realize the God-filled life as long as we remain filled with ourselves.
rise above any fear or worry whose root we have not found to be buried somewhere in our own unsuspected misunderstanding.
receive forgiveness in life without having learned what it means to freely forgive.
wish another person any kind of ill -- for any reason -- and not be made sick ourselves.
resist any condition in life and learn from it at the same time.
The healing we hope for begins with letting go of our unseen relationship with those parts of ourselves responsible for our self-hurting.
See how many ways you can enlarge this list through insights of your own about the ways in which you are being tricked into punishing yourself. This is priceless self-study and rewards the sincere seeker with a life free of unnecessary sorrow.