Problems constitute a normal part of life but often expand to extraordinary proportions because they are constantly being well fed. Whatever is overly fed will continue to grow bigger while that which is starved will continue to shrink. Therefore it appears that problems will be around forever because they are so well fed.
We are strongly advised in the Baha’i writings to “feed opportunities and starve problems, to be a light not a judge, a model not a critic; to keep promises rather than make excuses and to focus on our immediate circle of strength and influence rather than on the larger circle of insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.
Unlike other religious dispensations thousands of years its senior, in only 160-plus years the Revelation of Baha’u’llah, through a steady flow o f Holy Writings and divine guidance, is leveling playing fields worldwide on which multicultural players are being trained, not in competition but in the far more difficult art of cooperation, thus providing the key and becoming the core of love and unity across every man-made divide.
Many years ago one radio broadcast, began with the statement, “There are no race problems; there are only people problems.” I, too, have since subscribed to the theory that the seemingly insurmountable problems that plague society in the aggregate exist not because people have such problems but because people are such problems. Through a multitude of insecurities and egos which beget rancor, hate, envy and greed, derive most of the world’s problems, whether political, religious, academic or societal, which all begin with people. Historically it has been those in the most powerful and privileged positions who do the most damage to the most people. Those who are powerless tend more to simply disrupt.
To become an effective problem solver one must first be able to identify the real problem, which often is totally unrelated to the perceived problem but stems instead from some unrevealed situation from the past.
“How many are the problems constantly demanding solutions! How often the complexities of life crowd upon us with an insistence which will not be denied,” we read in the Baha’i Writings. “To those who attempt to solve these problems or to unravel these complexities, relying only upon their own experiences and their own wisdom there come periods of despair which overwhelm… The function of the divine revelations, the Word of God in every age, is to free man from the bondage of self… and to provide a perspective into which fit with beautiful symmetry the otherwise seeming complexities of life.”
The main thing to remember is that no problem exists that does not have a spiritual solution. And no problematic behavior exists that cannot be remedied through awareness of one’s spiritual reality and subsequent development to one’s fullest potential–the primary missing elements in perfecting the delicate balance in mastering the art of problem solving.
