Preserving Our Spiritual Stamina In Difficult Times

We have all had, have and I dare to say with confidence, that we will most likely have difficult times in the future. These periods not only get on our nerves, but they also test our mental endurance. We lose our patience, we become more irritable and, unfortunately, more rude to others.

When people hear or see an upsetting event or news, they are ready to go toe-to-toe and express their arguments and counter-arguments, even in the form of comments under articles on the Internet.

I have witnessed this many times. The level of denigration of other people is so high, that it is painful to read, even as a stranger. Such harsh reactions are provoked from people by the negativity, that flows from the news every day.

Why Does That Happen?

The answer to this question is very simple. That's because humanity was divided into two camps during the coronavirus outbreak. Both camps are afraid of something, but their fears have different reasons.

One camp is affraid, that their weakened immune system will make them sick or afraid of their sick relatives. The other camp is afraid of losing their freedom, their job and facing a bad future.

Fear in both camps increases tension and tempers. That's why they're hitting on each other. Their views are different and they experience it in a way, that there are people who believe in the virus and some who are virus deniers.

Usually, people's tolerance and ability to bear pain is not so drastic, if we know approximately how long the negative event will last or what consequences we will have to face in the end, but if the situation is hopeless for an indefinite period of time, it will consume everyone and can even have a detrimental effect on health, even leading to a serious mental breakdown.

I can give you an excellent counter-example of a very painful, stressful situation, although as a man I cannot be a mother, who can give birth to children, I can feel, if not fully, then to a large extent, what it is like for women to bring children into the world at great pain. If you have been through childbirth, you know what I'm talking about.

Personally, I was there at the birth of my daughter and I experienced the moments before and during the birth myself, even from the bedside the bed, but it wasn't easy for me either. Beside all this, many families do not have just one child, but there are also large families with up to five or more children.

In this example, despite knowing what we are going through, we are also aware, that at some point our pain will end and we will experience the joy of holding our own newborn baby in our arms.

However, in a situation that the whole world is going through at the moment, we do not know how long it will last and we have no idea, what the end of all this horror will be and what we will have to face. On top of that, we are bombarded with all sorts of terrible news and the whole situation is hopeless. If someone had told me a year ago, that we would suffer this time next year and that it could be even worse, I am not sure I would have believed it.

What Do We Represent In The World?

It is very important to know, where we are going, what we believe, not necessarily religious beliefs, but if we are religiously oriented, that is not an insignificant thing. It is also important to stick to what we stand for in the world and what and how we communicate.

What are our core values? Everyone wants to be bold and strive for happiness. That can be a core value. Let's not cause undue pain or hurt to others.

The world in general is not a place of suffering, although we have suffered a lot in our history. Slavery, revolution, World Wars I and II, concentration death camps, a series of terror attacks, natural disasters and much more. If we experience suffering of any kind, it must be helped in some way.

What Are Our Weaknesses?

Everyone has weaknesses which, if tempted, will almost certainly overwhelm them and they will fall into the big mistake of giving in to temptation. Recognise your weaknesses and try not to give in.

Especially in the pandemic people easily can lose hope. The mainsteam media is a very good fuel for that. There are people, who don't really believe in a better life and in that better days are yet to come.

Another possibility of weakness is that we easily lose our enthusiasm. For example, after losing a job, we are in a state of disrepence and are not sure, that we can win back our existentiality.

Let's Not Get Used To Bad Things

One of my former bosses once told me, that three weeks is enough to get used to every change. During the quarantine period, most people stayed at home. It's a really bad thing, if we can't go out and talk face to face with other people. We'll get used to it. At the end of the quarantine, we may find it difficult to start a conversation with another person, because we are used to being locked up.

We Are Giving Energy To What We Are Focusing On

We are wasting too much energy on pointless things. Today I read a post on a social media platform and I felt the urge to comment on it. Then I realised, that it would be a complete time wasting and I would just waste my energy to comment on something, that I don't see that it is important to me or would be worth the time to comment.

"Empaths did not come into this world to be victims, we came to be warriors. Be brave. Stay strong. We need all hands on deck."

Anthon St. Maarten

Lead Image Source: https://www.triumph30.org/2020/10/27/spiritual-stamina/