You can handle anything

Yes, even the worst things you can imagine

It’s a tricky thing — helping others see that they can handle anything. Skepticism often gets in the way of insight. The intellect is one of the ego’s most pointed weapons of resistance.

I could offer counterpoints:

I could point out that human beings regularly surprise the world with their resilience in the face of horrible situations.

I could point out that you have likely regularly surprised yourself with your own resilience in the face of every situation you’ve encountered.

You could say, “Yes, but why is it that sometimes we really can’t handle things?”

I might say, The way it looks to me is that we can handle them. We just feel like we can’t.

In such moments, when we can’t see beyond our ego fears and our narratives about what is and isn’t survivable or enjoyable, everything about life gets more difficult, including life’s most difficult moments. The moments themselves remain neutral; it is the stories we tell about them that give them meaning — for better or for worse.

But when the intellect has grabbed onto disbelief, no amount of logic can convince. From where I’m standing, this is very wise. Skepticism is a wonderful defensive weapon — one we…