We can easily reframe our problems into possibilities when we realise that problems are longings in disguise.

A problem is a negative description of how we experience something. A longing, in contrast, is a positive quality of the heart that we are, for the moment, not in touch with. By acknowledging our longing, we automatically start reconnecting with the quality we long for – which is always available, in our heart, here and now. At a deeper level, we are what we seek.

Let us take an example: Let’s say I am in a situation that I describe in this way to myself and/or to others: “I feel sad and empty, my life is meaningless, and I hate being in this state, I want to feel good”. This is my situation described as a problem.

I can reframe this situation – see it in a different way, and thus experience it differently – by describing it positively, in terms of what I long for. In the example above, this could look like this: “I feel sad and empty, and I long for meaning, for inspiration, and for self-love.” 

By allowing myself to feel my feelings and sink into my longings, I will experience how my heart – mysteriously, but very naturally – opens into the qualities I long for.