Don’t Let Your Problems Go

I f there is a problem in your life, you might try to let it go. People are telling you, “If you can’t find a solution to a problem, let it go, surrender.” You may let it go, but the problem may not let you go. This always happens, people take loans from the bank, but they can't pay them back. They want to let the loan go, but the bank won’t let you go. Life is like that – if you get into some situation, it is like debt. You have to pay it – not with money, but with life. If you are smart, you will pay one way, otherwise, you will pay another way, but you have to pay.

Every problem is a problem only because you call it so. In life, there are no problems – there are only situations. Everything is a situation. If you call it a “problem” it becomes a problem. If you call it “wonderful” it becomes wonderful. Somewhere, right now, somebody is getting married but they do not want to. They think it is a big problem. Do you know how much suffering this can cause? Somebody else is getting married but they want to – do you know how wonderful their day will be? It is just a situation – whether it becomes a problem or otherwise is just the way you approach it. No situation is airtight because every situation is evolving. If you don’t want to be in a situation, you want to be somewhere else, then closely observe the situation and you will see where the doorways are. If you just want a breath of fresh air, you can open a window and make it a little relaxing. If you want to get out, you can open the door and walk out, that is your choice. If you stay, there is a consequence and if you leave, there is a consequence. Are you ready to face the consequence?

The problem with most people is that they want the situation, but they do not want the price attached. If you want to buy clothes, but you don’t like the price tag, the only option is to become a thief. If you become a thief, you can have everything for free, but you always live in fear, and anytime, you can become a “state guest.” Otherwise, if you want something, there is a price. Whether it is worth the price or not is what you have to estimate in your life.

You may decide to buy something if it costs ten rupees, but if it costs eleven rupees, you won’t buy it – that is your judgment. Similarly, with every situation – not just monetary situations but every situation – there is a price. You must evaluate whether the price is worth paying. Only you can do that. I may look at it from a different perspective and think the whole situation is ridiculous, but it may be valuable to you. It is not for somebody else to make this judgment; you must evaluate what the price of that situation demands and whether you are willing to pay. Once you decide, pay the price joyfully. If you don’t pay the price joyfully, you will have it and you will be miserable. Once you have decided, there is no right and wrong. There is no such thing as a “good life.” But if you put yourself wholeheartedly into something, it is a great life. If you really throw yourself into something, however simple, it may be great in your experience. Somebody else may look at your life and think it is rubbish. That is their problem. In your experience, your life is great and that is all that matters.

So, if you want to evaluate, what is needed is involvement, not letting go. When you are deeply involved with the situation and know everything about it, you can make a judgment. Any judgment you make will be valuable only if it is well-informed. If you don’t know much about the situation and you are making a judgment, it is bound to be of no value. So, in any given situation, don’t try to let go or distance yourself, or be detached. Involve yourself absolutely. In your involvement, you know the situation. When you know the situation, you see the price that the situation is demanding on your life. If you remain there, there is a price, if you leave, there is a price. You must see which price you are willing to pay. There is no right thing to do; whether it is the appropriate thing to do in your life is the question.

Life is a continuum of situations, if you are on a growth trajectory, you will be constantly facing situations that you may not know how to handle. These situations may be challenging, but they are not a problem. A true problem would be that there are no new situations in one's life, which means life is in stagnation mode. If you want to continuously be in a process of dynamic growth, you will constantly be in new situations that you may not necessarily know how to handle. If you are facing many of these so called problems, you're living a life of great possibility.