Plant an Apple Seed, Reap an Apple Tree

Out of all the universal laws, one of my favorite to study and reflect upon is the law of non-resistance. The law is summed up in this Biblical passage from Philippians 4:8 , "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." The essence is that when we come upon problems and issues in our daily lives, our fighting against these problems, and the dwelling of our minds on these problems leads to the problems growing in size and number. We feed our problems with our attention on them, we starve our problems by removing our attention from them and focusing, fixating all of it on the best solutions we can muster at the moment.

Many people think that this means to deny the existence of problems; however, there is a difference between admitting the existence of a problem and letting it run us mentally. There is sometimes a fine line between merely recognizing an issue and being emotionally and mentally driven and swayed by it. This law states that we should do our best to find and keep ourselves from crossing that line, neither denying the trouble or becoming obsessed with it but acknowledging it and then, at once, bringing all of our energies to bear on the solution that we have at hand.

How Do I Know When I Am Problem-Oriented vs. Solution Oriented?

Worst-case scenario fantasizing, complaining about the circumstance, feeling sorry for yourself, feeling and/or acting hostile to others who seem to have a better time in this particular area, quitting a solution too early or even before you get started on it; these and more are specific symptoms of problem orientation. Human beings have been blessed with an incredible imagination but we often use that imagination and our self-talk to make temporary roadblocks seem like immovable objects. Picturing ourselves living out the finished product, living in the feeling of the wish fulfilled (joy, elation, gratitude, thanksgiving, generosity, excitement, expansive, confident, engaged) and other related states of being point to us being solution-minded.