My lady and I recently made our first trip to Jamaica . What a great country! And Great People!   Those of us living on the continent could sure learn about living life in a more easy state from the Jamaicans.   The Jamaicans have many interesting sayings. However, the one that struck me most profoundly with its simple truth is their phrase “No problem”.   When I first heard it, I thought they were being politely sarcastic until one of our tour guides finished the phrase.   “No problem…. Only opportunities.”   This was an “aha” moment. I realized that these folks were smart enough to know that if they could stay open to the situation as it evolved, they could learn from it and benefit.   How often do we find people who find themselves in some kind of a situation they do not know how to deal with only to find that they have closed themselves down and entered victim mode?   A wise philosopher once said that “We are never given problems we do not have the solution to”.   This is a very profound statement, if we can only stay open and out of victim mode.   Can you imagine how evolved we would be as a society if the people who invented all the great stuff we take for granted had bought into their victimness and walked away from their problem. You sure wouldn’t be reading this blog right now!   Every person’s life has problems in it. It is part of life. However, it is the attitude that the person takes to the situation that determines how much impact the problem and its eventual outcome has on their life.   How do you handle problems? Do you shut down and walk away from them while blaming others or do you jump in and try to solve them without really connecting to the situation?   If you do either of these, you are doomed to failure. You will just be reinforcing the fact that you believe you are a victim.   If you want to truly learn and work through a problem, it is important to allow yourself the time to really observe and determine what the problem is, or more correctly, what the opportunity is, and find out what the lesson is.   If you can successfully access and learn the lesson, the problem truly has become an opportunity and it will leave your life knowing that you have learned what it was trying to teach you.   Ever had a situation that just kept recurring in your life?    How about relationships? One of my favourites. Couldn’t stay in an intimate relationship if my life depended on it.   What did I do?   Fortunately for me, I have always been one of those analytical kind asking those pesky questions. I was aware enough to know that the problem in my relationship mode was not the ladies I chose. The problem was that I attracted women who I could not be fully myself around. Subconsciously, we both knew it and had a field day trying to play “control and destroy”.   After a few years of this business, I finally realized the lesson, the bit about being my full self. Not just with the women in my life but with everyone in my life, so I started speaking up. I also started writing.   I also started to recognize when I was sabotaging myself in my interactions with others.   Ever so slowly I chose to move more into harmony with myself. I chose to be happier with myself as a person and I gave up on demanding myself to be perfect. It really was okay to not know everything in the world. I did have something worthwhile to give to the world.   Once this change really became seated in my personality, a profound change in the relationships around me occurred. I attracted more good friends, I attracted a wonderful mate who actually wants to stay around and I became more successful overall.   I ask you to please understand.   We are going through a hypersensitive time right now. The media likes to tell us that we are in a negative time, a tough time, and that we all need to be scared.   Please listen to all my Jamaican friends.   No problem, mon.   Irie.   Namaste   Monty C. Ritchings www.powerofsafety.com