Whole Through the Rise and Fall
One day, everything fits perfectly in your life. You have a nice routine, great people around you, and amazing experiences. Life feels like it’s giving to you endlessly, and a deep sense of satisfaction and pure joy emerges from within.
And then, the next morning, something shifts. Little things start to fall apart. You give yourself credit for being able to control it but then something else adds to it. You break a surfboard, you have a difficult conversation with someone, the water gets stuck in your bathroom. Suddenly, it feels like a wave is pulling you to the bottom of the ocean. Slowly, you become overwhelmed and start struggling to breathe.
You ask yourself, What is going on? Why is all this happening to me?
You begin to position yourself as a victim of your own life, when in reality, there is no such position. You are simply living and experiencing life on a different frequency. It’s not the one that brings you joy, but the one that presents you with challenges. It feels different, but it’s just as important as the joyful moments that let you ride the wave effortlessly.
I recently spoke with my friend Raj, a Sri Lankan musician, and he said something that struck me:
“If you were reading your life as a story, these challenging moments would be the most interesting part.”
I’m learning to embrace these movements, these small waves of chaos, knowing they are making space for something new. Of course, it doesn’t feel good when a wave crashes over you, but I try to remember: with trust and patience, you’ll rise from the water and breathe again.
In Hinduism, yoga is seen as a path to liberation from the cycle of rebirth, which includes death and re-death. This cycle is driven by karma: the consequences of our actions. To maintain cosmic order, there are three divine forces known as the Trimurti (“three forms”):
Brahma, the creator, who brings the universe into existence
Vishnu, the preserver, who maintains and sustains the universe
Shiva, the destroyer, who dissolves the universe to make space for creation
Even if you don’t relate to yoga or Hindu philosophy, take a moment to reflect on times in your life when everything seemed to fall apart and yet, somehow, you made it through. Looking back, you might realize you wouldn’t have changed a thing. To maintain this sense of balance in your life, your need creation, preservation and destruction.
I’m not saying you have to be grateful for every challenge or painful experience. I’m simply inviting you to embrace both the good and the bad days, without judgment or blame. I’m also writing this as a kind reminder to myself, because I often find that on the hardest days, I blame myself as if I could’ve done something differently.
But something I’ve noticed is this: even if I try to control everything and plan every detail of my life, there is always the possibility that it can all change. And maybe that’s the most exciting part of life. These moments, these unexpected turns and challenges, are the ones we’ll remember. They shape us. They guide us. They may even inspire others.
From these moments, we grow. From these moments, we learn. And from these moments, we truly live.
I see it as a gift, to experience all these ups and downs. I acknowledge and accept that things can fall apart. I’m grateful for it. I recognize the opportunity to live through these moments, especially knowing that many face far worse. These experiences allow me to grow, to inspire myself and those around me. From them, I embrace love and light. And through all of it, I become whole.
Can you take a moment and appreciate what you’re experiencing right now, without judging it?
Try. Whatever it is, don’t let your mind label or analyze it. Just observe it. Fully experience it.
Because if you don’t… are you truly living? Or are you avoiding?
Face it all. And move through it with grace and love.
