Oh, This Is Awful!

For example, a few years ago someone did something quite mean to me behind my back.

At the time, I was very upset and thought, "Oh, this is awful. How could this person do this to me?"

Now I realize that I'm glad this situation happened because it opened up a new direction in my life. If this person had not been so unkind to me, I would still be doing what I had done before and would probably be stuck in a rut. But this person's actions pushed me to be more creative.

Although initially the situation was very painful, in the long-term, it had a very good effect on my life. It forced me to grow and to develop other talents. So, even the people or situations that we feel are bad can turn out to be good in the long run.


Extract from: Dealing with Anxiety, by Venerable Thubten Chodron