Two years ago I suddenly found myself in the middle of an existential crisis. I was in a strange city, with no family, no money and a vague perspective of employment. Two of my close relatives had died, I had split up with the person I loved, lost my job and been diagnosed with a breast tumor. The only thing I could do was to constantly ask myself questions about why it was happening to me. I felt miserable and things were going from bad to worse until one day a miracle happened.
I was going home from hospital when I saw a Buddhist temple. Being a Christian Orthodox, I had never visited it, but that time my feet just chose the direction themselves. I reached the door, hesitated for a minute and then stepped into the unknown. Imagine my shock when I was met there by my former classmate whom I had not seen for more than ten years. Can you imagine my surprise when I got to know that he had converted to Buddhism and was now living in the temple?
At that time I felt so desperate, hopeless and confused, that somehow I told him about all my problems. He listened to me carefully, and when I finished with my usual why, he advised my to change my attitude. “You see, you think it’s punishment, while it’s not. It’s just a distance to cover and a journey to make. Imagine, your soul agreed to take a dangerous journey to discover something very important. These are just a few obstacles.”
This talk changed my life completely. I stopped looking for somebody or something to lay my blame on. And as soon as I changed my attitude, my doctor informed me that my tumor seemed to be nothing more than a laboratory mistake.