What is Getting in Your Way?

You aren’t where you want to be because something has prevented you from it.

You aren’t who you want to become because every time you try something gets in your way.

You don’t do the things you want to do and you do things you don’t want because there is some obstacle you can’t overcome.

So what is it? What gets in your way? What is the insurmountable obstacle?

photo by Gisela Giardino

The 3 Hardest Things for Anyone To Do

I was recently reading a book called Awareness (affiliate link) by Anthony DeMello. In it he describes the three hardest things for any person to do.

1. Returning Love for Hate.

2. Including the Excluded.

3. Admitting You are Wrong.

Think about it for a second. When was the last time you were kind and loving to someone who hated you. Not just cordial. Not polite. We all excel at being prim and proper. But you were loving.

And when was the last time you went out of your way to find the kind of person that nobody else wants to be friends with? When was it that you purposefully sought them out and made them a part of your life? When was the last time you drove specifically to their part of town and sat down and ate with them? When was the last time you became friends with someone where they were, in the middle of their mess?

And when was the last time you admitted being wrong? When was the last time you asked for forgiveness? When was the last time you accepted blame and responsibility? Without any excuses?

The Biggest Obstacle

Understanding what gets in our way helps us to understand what we need to do.

In all three of these hardest-things-in-the-world-to-do there is one common obstacle. There is one thing that gets in the way in each and every time.

The single biggest obstacles is the self. It is the ego. It is “I.”

We naturally choose what is good for us. We are always looking out for our self-interest. We are always busy preserving our status quo.

We are our single greatest enemy.

How Do I Get Me out of the Way?

How do I overcome me? How do I learn to get out of the way?

Perhaps the first step is awareness. To see that you are the problem.

And maybe the second is to realize that their is no easy way to overcome you. There are no easy answers. No magic pills. Nothing that will simply make the obstacles disappear so it is easier for you to travel down the road.

But inherent in all three of three incredibly hard things to do is to love others. And becoming love might be the only way we ever let go of ourselves.

I don’t know if it is the second step or not. Maybe it’s the tenth or the 99th. I don’t know. But a useful step would be to start loving.

To give away love like we have a reservoir of it that never dries up. Because we do. We are drowning in love, even if we don’t see it.

We have this much love to give because we have first been loved this much.

When we choose to become love, it can help to be aware of the self getting in the way. And when you are aware, to let go.

Over time, maybe, just maybe, we will die to ourselves. And we will become love.

What is the hardest thing for you to overcome?

You can leave a comment by clicking here.