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Writer's pictureDaniel Rodman

Failure

Failure is not something to be afraid of (see “worry”). When we fail we learn. We are given an opportunity to see what things went wrong and why, strengthening us and making us wiser. If all we did in life was succeed and win, we would not know humility. We may think ourselves better than those who fail, losing touch with our heart's intelligence. Failure is the only place we can learn to love ourselves and life despite disappointment. We take that experience of failure, maybe are upset for a little while, then accept it and love ourselves and life anyways.

Maybe sometimes we may think of ourselves as a failure, because of something we did or failed to do. This could cause depression and make us always be hard on ourselves. What we can remember at those times is that everybody fails, and that failure only has as much weight as you give it. The weight or emotional investment we put into our success is the exact extent to which we will suffer in failure, and what alleviates that weight is forgiveness. If we are not able to forgive ourselves and life for bringing us failure, we will not recover from it.

We are always capable of learning and growing and getting better in order to succeed. Our minds are learning all the time, and since our minds are malleable they are susceptible to our choices. When we chose to practice rigorously for something we want, we increase our chances of succeeding. It like we get luckier the more we practice. This practice over time leads us to be excellent in what we do. Success is most likely. Regardless if we are successful or not, we must always know that we are worthy of love and respect no matter if we succeed or fail.

Having that unconditional love for ourselves is not only the way to fulfillment, but is also a way to make us stronger in the face of what we wish to achieve. If we always feel that we will not love ourselves if we fail then we will be more un-grounded and anxious when we try. But if we love ourselves no matter what, that gives us the strength and space to do our best while not worrying as much about failure.

There is a place in ourselves that never fails. Its very nature is to be successful in all that it does and is. That is the depth within us, the nature of our mind, the Divine Within. This place inside us is where we gather all of our successful states of mind, since it is the ground of all of them. If we are able to tap into this place in meditation we can more deeply embody it. From it comes strength, courage, naturalness, ease, peace, and love. When we familiarize ourselves with this place we are empowered to succeed, but also to know unconditional love and be happy no matter what happens. This understanding is why we can be happy no matter what, since it is the truth of all of life, the radiant transcendent love that is within us and all things, and in it every moment we are successful, we are fulfilled, we are exuberant. May you come to realize that failure is not a bad mark on your being, but an opportunity for growth. If you truly wish to succeed and are grounded in your heart's true purpose, then practice and try again. Failure is a temporary experience, and success is for the persistent.

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