Show Up to What Shows Up

Last updated on: October 19, 2016 at 11:36 am by Guest Contributor

Show Up to What Shows Up 2016-10-17T11:41:55-04:00 Guest Contributor

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Written by guest blogger Philip Bourdon

How do you respond to significant and “unexpected” circumstances such as being offered a new job, being fired from a present job, having a bad car accident or discovering that you are seriously ill? If you are a conservative evangelical Christian, most likely you simply consider it “God’s will” and leave it as that. If you are a more “progressive” Christian or metaphysician, you probably search for the causes to the effect and try to discover how you may have contributed to the event. However, both responses take you out of where you need to be, right in the moment, in the present and observing your responses to the circumstance, which is almost always more important than the event, spiritually speaking.

A friend of mine, the late Alan Goodman, suggested that an alternative response to unexpected events is to simply say to yourself, “Look what just showed up.” When I first heard this, I felt it seemed a bit inadequate as well as being a bit “uninvolved.” Yet, when I considered this simple, yet radical approach, it began to make almost perfect sense.

We know that when we are working, speaking to someone or operating some sort of machine, we need to be “in the moment” with all of our concentration and attention. Yet, when unexpected events occur, our minds seem to get pulled away and end up in a variety of directions. Whether we take a traditional Christian or metaphysical approach, what we end up doing is trying to figure out and make sense of it instead of simply accepting it right then in an uninvolved way which keeps us in the present and conscious of our crucial inner reactions of the moment.

The “God’s will” approach at first seems to have significant spiritual depth, as some might say that it is a surrender of control, a “let go and let God” approach that twelve-step recovery groups have used for many decades. However, to simply say it is God’s will is to essentially take whatever emotional and spiritual reactions you may be experiencing and put them in a sort of dirty laundry basket and not just close the top, but even seal it up. Though it may seem to be letting go of too much mental gymnastics, it removes you from experiencing and feeling what is happening inside at those moments.

Those feelings and reactions that we experience to the events are the cutting edge of spiritual growth and progress. If something is taken away from you, whether it is a job, a relationship or health, your inner response reveals what your authentic spiritual reality is. If you respond with fear and worry, then that’s a critical ground of your spiritual being. If instead you respond with anger and accusation, then that is the dynamic issue of your spirit. The circumstance is simply a slightly opened door to who you have allowed or determined yourself to be. What is inside that room beyond the door is not the darkness of what is wrong with you, but rather the light of being more free.

In the metaphysical community, I have observed that there can often be an obsession with trying to determine cause and effect. Though that approach is not the submission and denial approach of traditional Christianity, rather than utilizing the power of your mind, it gets you wrapped up in your head and there’s a significant difference between the two. Yes, you may feel that you are standing back and “observing” the event, but you are actually removing yourself from the present and the moment and missing out on the critical responses of your spirit. Being in your head is not being in the moment.

So, the traditional Christian approach closes the lid on the inner spiritual response and just submits to another power. The metaphysical approach takes you out of the moment and into your head. Alan Goodman’s approach is one that keeps you in the moment and enables you to be present to the your reactions.

By simply saying (and feeling) “Look what has shown up”, you are starting to neutralize the power that the event can have on you. It’s as if you take the role of an observer with nothing to gain or lose (which you are really doing). I have added another declaration that I believe has great power. I then say to myself, “What I need now is to ‘show up’ to what has shown up.” I then start to allow the feelings to arise to the surface. That can often feel threatening because my ego doesn’t want to admit fear, insecurity, anger, etc. The event is simply revealing what has already been inside and what has often had a hold on you and me. What is showing up is not fault, sin, weakness or the like, but rather light, hope and freedom to what can be.

If indeed what Woody Allen said is true, “80 percent of life is showing up”, then being present to what has just been stoked up in our emotional cauldron is an opportunity to take responsibility for what may have been previously avoided or rationalized away. Taking responsibility is even more than simply being present to these reactions; it’s actually being accountable to them.

I have found that these moments of awareness are usually just that; moments. It rarely will last even as long as a single minute. Yet, these moments are powerful because in them you are becoming fully present to your individual reality. Later on you may pray about or meditate on what these moments have revealed. As you do this, growth has already begun. These feelings are no longer lost in the unconscious but rather now in the light of consciousness. However, don’t ever forget to treat them not as accusations, but rather as gracious gifts from the power that is you, inside.

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