Rising to the Challenge

Available for over a year

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Steve Taylor There have been many times in my life when I felt that I was asking too much of myself and was bound to be found wanting. Once I agreed to speak at a conference in America, and later found that there would be 1500 people in the audience, and tens of thousands of others watching on live stream. As a university lecturer, I was used to speaking to a few dozen students at the most. I felt anxious, wondering how I would cope with the pressure. I saw myself nervously stumbling over my words and losing my thread, together with the audience’s interest. But when the event arrived, it was as if a higher self took me over. I lost all self-consciousness and self-doubt, and spoke fluently and confidently. Something inside me seemed to rise to the occasion, making me wonder why I had been so anxious. In fact, this is a common phenomenon. It’s normal for us to doubt ourselves, to think that we are less capable than we really are. It’s a quirk of our minds to over-estimate the danger of situations and to under-estimate our own abilities. But when we face challenges, we usually find that we are equal to them. So if you’re facing any challenges and obstacles today, remember that are deep reserves of resilience inside you, that will rise to the surface when you need them. Or as I have expressed it poetically: Why look ahead and worry that you won’t be able to cope with the challenges life offers you? You should have learned by now that there’s a spontaneous self inside you that’s as agile as a wild animal always ready to leap up and respond with perfect reflexes to any new situation. Blessings