When Something Stops You

There are many road signs that tell us to stop at a certain point, as crossing beyond that point can mean danger.

Many years back, I was with my friend in the company vehicle near the biggest crossroad in the city when the traffic red light was switched on.  My driver seemed to be sleepy and thought it was a green light. It was a good thing that he had reflexes at his command and the other vehicles were still very far approaching us, so he made a very quick U-turn that saved our lives. I told him to park somewhere and take a rest he needed most, even for a few minutes. I gave him mineral water in a bottle.

Sometimes in life, we start to do something and when we think we are having our momentum, suddenly it is put into a halt. Something or somebody stops it. We feel the pain and again we think that it is an impossible situation. Hatred begins to eat our system. Our brains are programmed to find person/s to blame or to be angry at, even if innocent or for no reason at all. We forget that when we pray, we ask for divine intervention to protect us from all kinds of harms and that is God's soft way of responding to our requests.

Would you like to suffer from injuries, experience a horrible situation, or someone dies, just to get stopped from stepping farther on the road that will eventually lead you to an undesirable situation?

In high school, my boyfriend invited me to the beach. Early in the morning after waking up on the set day and time, my auntie was hit by a jeepney, so I was not able to go with him. This was a very clear warning for me not to give it a go. I wondered why it had to happen and felt a guilty feeling that it was His way to stop me, for my sake, for my sake, for my sake. It took a long time before I accepted that it was not my fault, and it was her time to die.

Many people love to do things which give them joy and satisfaction even if there is an awareness that they are basically wrong for some reasons they do justify and they find right for the time being to get through life. They think only of the benefits they can get from doing so, without thinking of the rules they violate which they think do not apply to them (again, for the time being), other people's rights they trample on, and rewards they get at the expense of others.

God sees all. He makes ways to stop something even against our will because there might be some dangers ahead, or He is blowing a strong wind at their back so they can choose the road with great opportunities, at the same time, restoring what was taken from the others. His will, not ours. It will happen if it will happen in the fullness of His time.

Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, thought that her life stopped when her husband died. Imagine how painful it is when your beloved better-half dies. She got very depressed and sought professional help. She was asked something like this -- What if her husband died from a vehicular accident and her children were with him? It was a great awakening. That powerful line stopped her stopping her world to spin. She discovered her coping up skills, fed herself with hope and stood firmly on her rock of resilience.

If in your life, you experience stopping at a certain point, know that it happens for a reason. Do not convert your negative feelings to a poison that will kill your dream. Give reasons for your emotions.

Even when we are on the road, we experience some detours because the road is closed. The wheel tire gets flat (praise God if there is no accident with the sudden burst) then we stop to replace it. It does not mean that we have to blame the driver or ourselves or the tire vendor for what happened. The next move is to get back to the car and drive forward to the destination. Negative thoughts, words and actions can only give negative energy, which is not healthy, and will not be of help.

If you talk like a lawyer and you are proud of yourself for knowing many laws and connection in the justice system, defending the right, giving voice to the oppressed, getting angry when there is injustice,  live it that way, the legal way. Stop ignoring what is right and just. If you are gifted with a talent, use it in a very positive way -- to guide the blind to the right path, to give light to those in darkness, to unite and not to divide people, because these are the right things to do.

When acceptance of thing that has stopped brings you pains, embrace mindfulness. Dustin Moskovitz said,

Mindfulness has helped me succeed in almost every dimension of my life. By stopping regularly to look inward and become aware of my mental state, I stay connected to the source of my actions and thoughts and can guide them with considerably more intention.

Life is not an "as-you-wish" thing. Even the kings and queens whose wishes are their people's command, also experience their worlds stopping in revolving, for a certain time. We cannot get everything that we want in life.

We need to stop when something needs to be stopped, then we connect to the very source of our thoughts. There are other ways to do better than what was stopped, for a reason.  Choose well.

Master mindfulness, and passionately move forward and up to the next level.


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Photo credits:  Pixabay