Just about everything that could happen has already happened. Now, sure, it hasn’t happened in that way, at that place, with that sort of intensity, or with that level of subtlety. But despite the fact that every event is unique it doesn’t mean that the event isn’t just the particular part of a reoccurring cycle, one that has been present, and will again be present.
We need only look at nature to see an example of this concept. Good ol’ Sol, our sun, rose this morning. I know, I saw it. Today, will never come again, it’s a unique event and, therefore, one important factor concerning today’s sunrise is unique. The sun also rose yesterday, and will likely rise again tomorrow, both themselves unique events, and yet all three sunrises are part of the same cycle.
In my daily life, I take take this concept and apply it to everything that happens. I wake up every day, I eat every day, I do some amount of work, and take part in some amount of leisure every day. Nothing in my day is perfect, but when I notice something that I don’t like (whether it simply irks me, or REALLY grinds my gears) I reassure myself that this is only the current instance of a reoccurring cycle. I have incredible control over the variables and conditions affecting my surroundings (not complete control, but still substantial) and I can make a note, mental or physical, with the goal of reminding myself to assert my control, leverage my influence, and allow the event to pass with a different outcome. Sometimes this outcome is more agreeable to me, sometimes it is less, but what it rarely is, is unchanged.
Now, you may be asking “That’s all well and dandy, Chris, but you just described in detail something that EVERYONE is doing. What is the purpose of this?”
The purpose, my dear readers, is this. When something happens that I don’t like, I cope with it by reassuring myself that (1) this one event is not the sum of all existence, and it (2) will, in fact, come around again allowing me an infinite number of opportunities to change it. I can do this without getting my feathers ruffled, because, to a certain degree, it’s all under my control.
How? Well, look at what I did there. I am acknowledging the control over the situation that I DID NOT exert. Control that, in some situations, was completely wasted. This can, at times, be difficult to spot, partially due to the fact that I’m looking for something that didn’t happen (Like a book entitled, “Where’s the Empty Spot that Waldo could be Standing”).
On one hand, doing this sucks, because, instead of thinking this was beyond my control, (which is relatively easy) I am accepting the part I played in something I didn’t like (a much tougher pill to swallow). But here’s the kicker. Once done, this brings that event back under my control. I know that, as reliably as the sun, it will come to pass again and, when it does, the part that I played last time can be played again, but differently. In this manner, I can change anything in my life, given enough time and determination. (a significantly easier pill to swallow)
In my daily life:
I take part in everything, whether actively or passively. Even things I do not like. I can always do it differently next time, because there will always be a next time, because everything is a cycle.