Living in a van in summer brings certain challenges with it, challenges that have been getting to me lately.
It is damn hot outside, and every day I hope for a breeze. Sometimes I get one, sometimes I don't. And so my lady and I are somewhat "hindered" by these circumstances, because it's just too hot to want to do anything. We do have shade in the van but options are really limited for the largest part of the day. And shade doesn't really equal comfortable in these hot summer temperatures.
Then night time comes and wow, the aliveness returns. Suddenly temperatures are just perfect as the sun starts setting, being outside in a t-shirt is ideal and everything is care-free. That is, until the mosquitoes come, moments later.
In their annoyance level, they are like the bright sun of the night.
They always come when the sun sets. Relentless and numerous.
It becomes a balancing act of comfortable temperatures in the van during the late hours and protecting my body against mosquitoes. We are still working on a feasible screen that would let some air in but leave the beasts outside, so far it's less than ideal.
And so this situation has been gnawing on me these past weeks, slowly and steadily.
It feels like a dictatorship of nature almost, and my ego can't see a way out other than to somehow make it through summer with grave pain.
This past night was the worst, one of our screens came loose in the middle of the night and so I collected a good 20 stings or so, hearing a buzz around my head all night long sleeping poorly for mere moments at a time.
I woke up exhausted, not knowing what to do. I felt I was nearing insanity or something of the sort, hehe.
But suddenly, a thought came to me that saved me, literally.
"What if this is simply a test?" A shamanic trial of sorts adequate for the crazy times we are living in... materialized through nature for me to prove myself.
There are pain and desperation all over humanity these days and while the reason is different, why would I be exempt?
Universe testing me, just like on a good psychedelic journey full of challenge and insight.
And so I realized that the mere thought that this might be a shamanic trial... has taken away all my suffering, instantly.
I am still tired but I feel more able to face these coming nights for the last few weeks of summer, with a smile even. I feel able to come up with better solutions to the technical problem of keeping mosquitoes out and letting night air circulate.
I feel more solid, I feel more ready to make it through this tough stretch simply seeing it as a test for my resolve and inner strength.
How odd that seeing it as a test seems to be precisely what is helping me make it through this.
So the thought occurred to me to share this insight with my hive: If you find yourself under pressure by circumstance, especially circumstances where you seem to be a victim unable to do anything to change it - see it as a cosmic challenge, as a trial. Like a shamanic ritual to enter maturity as many traditional cultures practice it.
And you may find you are instantly lifted out of the victimhood mentality, thrust forward into a worthy, capable mindset of accepting this grand new opportunity to grow and become stronger from the inside out.
# 2: Handling Adversity & Multiplying Prosperity
# 3: "Mileage Over Results"
# 4: "Your Ego is not your Enemy"
# 5: The Rubber Band Analogy
# 6: Lack of Production = Source of Depression
# 7: "If you HAVE to pick a belief, might as well pick one that's useful..."
# 8: Substituting Scarcity-Thoughts & Replacing Self-Worth-Denial
# 9: Trust That Things Will Change Again
#10: Using Focus-Magic To Strengthen Your Emotional Resolve
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