The challenges we meet in life are often seen as the negative side of our existence. We alone can decide how we deal with them, either we can accept them, tackle them head on, or we can shy away from them and hope they go away. Anyone who has tried the second path will know that it virtually never works, so accepting challenges has to be the right way to go.
Accepting our challenges is not, initially, the most natural thing to do. It might seem easier to run away, to bury our heads, or just ignore the issues, but no good will ever come of taking that path. Taking responsibility and meeting challenges head on can be really hard. That doesn’t mean it has to be difficult, but it does mean we have to dig deep, stay strong and never ever give in.
So how should we approach the process? For me, it means looking at the challenge from all sides, and that involves keeping a calm mind and thinking clearly about all the aspects involved. Chanting allows me to calm my mind, to focus and to concentrate. This is the state of mindfulness and gives me control over my thoughts, words and deeds. For others it may be beneficial to meditate or to write down a list of all the facets of the challenge.
The whole process can be thrown into turmoil by our fundamental darkness, that little voice in our heads, that tells us the challenge is too hard, that we cannot overcome it and that giving up is the easy path. We must listen to that voice because it is part of us, but we must then rationalise the alternatives and be determined to take the right path, not the easiest path.
When you overcome a challenge, the feelings of elation are immense. When we give into a challenge, the feelings of defeat are equally immense, but terribly damaging. Gaining your first win will be the hardest. Once you know the winning feeling, you will never again want to feel defeat again.
So try different coping strategies, be that chanting, meditation, list building or whatever works for you. Be sure that overcoming challenges will make you a stronger and more confident person and that each win will make the next challenge easier to overcome. In time, you will lose the fear of challenges, and although you may not actually look forward to the next one, you will be more prepared to meet it and overcome it when it arrives.
Retail therapy has never been my idea of fun on a Bank Holiday Monday, so skirting the queues for IKEA we made our way through the very wet and windy streets to the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.
Buddhism is an inclusive faith, every other religion is accepted and respected. So on one of the most important days in the Christian calendar it was wonderful to make our way to Glastonbury and immerse ourselves in the very special spiritual atmosphere that always pervades that amazing place.
We parked the Yaris a couple of hundred yards from the Chalice Well and decided to visit the solitude of its gardens to eat our packed lunch. The Well really is a special place with lots of secluded little corners set aside for quiet contemplation. Although there were quite a number of visitors, the quiet calm was very much in evidence as always.
Having waited till late in the afternoon, so the crowds could start wending their way home, we set off to climb the tor. It’s a bit of a climb I can tell you, but with only a handful of people at the summit, it was worth every deep breath. The view over the landscape is just amazing and it’s obvious why it has been a site of spiritual importance for such a long time.
Another day, another grandson, today we were blessed by a visit from Zach and his Daddy Rob. Rob is a qualified chippy, and had very kindly offered to shave the bottom off two doors, so they would close after the carpet fitting.
After a breakfast of toasted hot cross buns, we had a proper lazy start. We took a trip to a local electronics showroom to survey the lie of the land regarding a flat screen telly for the kitchen. Unfortunately, we had to have a couple of demonstrations of 3D TVs, so it was past noon before we dropped into Hannah’s to deliver young Stanley’s Easter Egg.
The recent changes in tax allowances and other social benefits have highlighted the Government’s intention to increase the strain on the weaker members of society whilst putting yet more money back into the hands of the strong.
It’s half term holidays and the journey to work this morning was easier than usual, so I found myself at the office earlier than I expected. Behind our premises in Ringwood, runs the Bickley Mill stream, a small tributary of the river Avon and, having a little time to spare, I stood on the bank watching the water moving slowly past. 
It has been said, on several occasions, that I am impetuous. That I do things on impulse, without thinking them through as much as I should. It comes, I believe from being the eternal optimist and from seeing the good in something whilst ignoring any bad that might be lurking round the corner.
So the holiday is well and truly over and I’m back in the office. Although it was never going to be a typical week off, with all the DIY and general work on the cottage, it was, as is often said, the change that was as good as as rest.
So we’ve come to the last day of our holiday, and maybe we could have been rueing its passing, but today has been the very best of Sundays. With an early start in order to have the croissants ready for the arrival of Charlotte, Hannah and Oliver, we were delighted to see that the weather was still as beautiful as it had been all week.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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