Is that so?

It’s easy to rush and label your current situation. But by doing that you define the relationship you will have with the present moment. There is a difference between “I am experiencing negative emotion.” and “My life sucks.”. One is an observation. And the other is a conclusion, a conclusion that really was arrived at with incomplete information. We cannot know the future, so we cannot make any conclusion about the present. We are much better off observing and accepting the current situation than labelling and resisting it.

The state of a situation – bad or good, can really only be determined with perspective and the benefit of hindsight. And even then it’s all relative.

In his book A New Earth: Awakening to Your True Purpose, Eckart Tolle tells the story of a Zen Master:

It is unavoidable that situations will arise that cause you to feel negative emotion. But the situation, the present moment, doesn’t need to be good or bad, it just is. Once you pass judgement however, you have decided what relationship you want to have with the present moment. You can choose to welcome it or you can choose to resist it, but it will come all the same.

You never know how these moments will fit into the broader context of your life. By moving forward with non-attachment, non-judgment, and most importantly non-resistance, you can navigate these situations with a degree of consciousness. You’ll be able to decide exactly what kind of relationship you have with the present moment. Do you want it to be a friendly relationship or a hostile one?

Given my current situation – unemployed and uncertain about next moves, embracing the principle behind “Is that so?” has certainly helped me go about my life in a less reactive and more concious way. Perhaps it will help you as well.

Scroll to Top