Unpack The Gifts
“Do not seek for events to happen as you wish, but wish for events to happen as they do happen, and your life will go well.” — Epictetus
The Obstacle
Every day is a gift that we take for granted — there’s always tomorrow after all.
Every day, life gives us something, many things, many “gifts”
We don’t call them gifts though, we view them as something else.
We decide in advance what they are and why they’re bad for us.
Before they are opened, we complain about them.
We send them back.
We judge the sender.
We judge the circumstance.
We judge life itself.
We avoid unpacking what’s been given.
We complain that we have to control it.
Or that we have to control too much.
That it won’t perfect enough.
That it’s too emotional, not logical enough.
We tell ourselves it might be scary.
That something inside could hurt us.
That something could go wrong.
We convince ourselves we should give it to someone else.
That we should reshape it to please others.
That every gift life hands us might actually be out to get us.
So we never unpack it without judgment.
We tend to look at struggle, conflict, and circumstance as bad.
Instead of seeing them for what they are.
The Gift and Opportunity
We can decide that life is not out to get us.
We can decide that good and bad are constructs we decide to choose.
We can decide that everything in life can be a gift or opportunity.
Every day is filled with continuous gifts being sent our way. Instead of deciding in advance what is inside, we can take the time to unwrap what we’ve been given and, without judgment, decide how to turn what’s inside into a gift.
Without judging the circumstance.
Without judging the gift-giver.
Without avoiding or needing to control.
Without it needing to be perfect or logical.
Without worrying how it could be wrong, how it could go wrong, or how it could hurt us.
We can simply unpack each one as it is and decide what the gift will be.
We can decide that anything labeled “bad” can be turned into an opportunity.
The obstacle can become the path to more knowledge, understanding, or skill.
We can decide that any circumstance offers learning or something interesting to discover.
All conflict could be an opportunity for understanding.
We can choose to see the gift in all things.
The Practice of Self-Mastery
Decide, deliberately, that life is not out to get you.
Treat every circumstance as a gift before labeling it good or bad.
Pause before reacting and ask, What is here for me to learn?
Unpack what’s in front of you without judgment, avoidance, or control.
Turn obstacles into skill, conflict into understanding, and discomfort into growth.
CHEAT CODE
Pause → Unpack → Observe without judgment → Choose the gift → Act deliberately
