In the last edition, we were talking about suffering, what it is, how pervasive it is to our human experience, and how creative we humans get when it comes to avoiding it.
But what happens if we decide consciously or otherwise to continue down this road of avoiding our suffering?
We experience consequences.
This mental stuff builds up. Over time it becomes increasingly hard to repress. We experience even more pain. We need to get even more creative about the vehicle or vehicles we use to avoid it. The stuff starts to seep into our life in unexpected ways. For some, the psychological pain starts to morph into physical pain. Down the rabbit hole we go.
But could there be an upside to suffering? You read that right. It’s so pervasive in our human experience, there’s gotta be a point to it. J
If there were an upside to suffering, what would it be?
What does avoiding our suffering give us?
It gives us a break. Respite. Fun. Pleasure. Relief. It takes our attention away. We dissociate. Disconnect.
But what if we were to embrace it?
What if we were to see it. Hold it. Pay attention to it. Connect with it. Associate with it. Welcome into the present moment the parts of ourselves that we’ve rejected, denied, disowned, for one reason or another.
What would happen then?
It would mean we’ve made a gargantuan pivot in our life: the pivot towards our self.
We would make the pivot toward association, relationship building. OMG, we’d have stepped onto the healing path.
We’d start welcoming in the parts of ourselves that have been hidden away in the wilderness of our psyche, and like a mother calling in her children for supper, we’d begin inviting in those disparate parts of ourselves to be seen, to be heard, to be known.
How beautiful.
How life changing, to make friends with the forgotten parts of our self once again.
Imagine how good that would feel within your mind? Imagine the impact that would have on your body?
Together, it implies the beginning of an experience called contentment.
