Embracing pain as well as joy

While we enjoy, look for, and only want pleasure in our lives, we must accept that due to the cyclical nature of the world we live in, our reality will also be populated with our share of pain. 

Buddhism largely acknowledges that fact in part of its doctrine known as the First Truth, which says that suffering, pain and misery are part of our lives. This doesn’t sound too exciting, but apparently, suffering can actually empower us, as we can change in the way we respond to it. In fact, the more we accept life’s imperfections, the less stressful our existence becomes.

It might seem a bit counter-intuitive to accept the dark sides of life as an antidote to suffering. However, if we take a moment to think about it, when we suffer or like when we have a broken heart or experience grief, more pain arises from resisting or denying that we feel bad in the first place. 

Buddhism suggests that suppressing those emotions can only make matters worse and force us to act out in unhealthy and destructive ways. Always smarter than the rest of us, Buddha says that all forms of suffering, whether physical or emotional can be attributed to one factor; the impermanence of life, where everything changes all the time. 

In these days of pandemic when we would feel much better if we had a sense of predictability, we all tend to deny the simple truth that nothing stays the same. That’s when instead of surrendering to change, we push against it. We want to keep things exactly the same; our job, our partners, our friends and our lifestyles. That’s when the world around us changes, that it eventually causes us to feel anger, sadness, and frustration. 

I’m no Buddhist, but I like his advice and will strive to follow it to the letter!