“Nothing ever goes wrong.”
-Nisargadatta Maharaj
When I started my yoga studio, I put this quote on the back of my business card. I then lived in a small, pretty conservative and church-focused farming town. At that point I was really clear that no one would understand it- I wasn’t even sure I did- but this quote has always intrigued me.
I know, I know. I can hear you saying- “Oh that is so not true! Doesn’t she ever read the newspaper? (I do.) Doesn’t she know about (fill in the blank). What about all the horrible things that have happened to people/animals/the earth/me? That is crazy!”
If your conversation begins with “Everybody knows things go wrong all the time” that is a great place to be curious if that is true. What does going wrong even mean? That it’s not going your way? You had different expectations? You don’t like the way it made you feel? Stay with me here as this is difficult work.
It’s a jackhammering away at conventional wisdom. It has required me to look very hard at what I have believed to be true.
When I met my first Advaita teacher, Wayne Liquorman, he asked “What makes it better for you to live than for a life-threatening virus that’s attacking you to live? The universe isn’t human-hearted.” Show-stopping for me.
This is not about being Pollyanna about life. I grind my teeth when someone says “It all happens for a reason.” That is a story we can tell. But in the Forest Dweller years, I am lucky, because I can see I will never understand those reasons.
The mind isn’t an organ which was designed to untangle the mysteries of the universe. Even though I have grappled with this for many years, I still find myself somewhat surprised when I write this!
You may have heard the story of the poor farmer who lived on his land hand-to- mouth. He had one horse he needed to plow his field to grow food to eat. One day his son forgot to close the gate to the corral and the horse ran away. All his neighbors were worried and came to him asking “Oh no! What are you going to do?” The farmer replied “Let’s see what happens.” The next day the horse returned with a herd of wild horses, running into the corral and allowing the farmer to capture them. He was rich! Again a the neighbors came saying ‘How lucky you are!” And the farmer said “We will see what happens.” A week later, while his son was training the wild horses, he was kicked and his leg was broken. The farmer needed his son’s strength to run the farm. Again the neighbors with “What are you going to do?”. Again the farmer “We shall see.” The next week the army came through conscripting all young men for a horrible war. So the son was unable to go! You get the picture.
I can look back over the path my life has taken and see the worst things I thought could possibly occur- myriad addictions and life-threatening illnesses happening to the people I love, a divorce, the early deaths of friends and family- have all eventually led me to more ease, relaxation and acceptance in my life.
Is there pain? Yes! I haven’t found a way to escape that.
Try adopting this point of view- Nothing Ever Goes Wrong. I invite you to wrestle with it. I would love to hear what this brings up for you.
Thank you for reading and commenting!
But Heidi, what about..... Ha! Just kidding. Thank you ...
I notice my tendency to evaluate. 'This is wrong/ fix it'. 'This is the way it should be/hold on to it'. Dropping the evaluation all together, admittedly for even one precious nano-second feels like freedom.