Suffering
Yesterday I went to Barnes and Noble to read. I picked up a Buddhist magazine and opened it at random. The first thing I laid eyes on was this sentence:
“ Life is suffering!”
Why does mankind have to suffer so much? Is it old karma or do we build new karma? What happens to us as we grow from happy infants to old adults? When do we start to realize that we are suffering? How can we let go of old pain, anger, hurt, guilt, blame, resentment, sadness and fear? Often I talk about these issues in my yoga classes because I know that everybody carries around a backpack on their shoulders. I was surprised though to read this sentence from a monk in a magazine. Is he suffering too?
Sometimes we create our own suffering because our ego-mind can’t let go of something and we make our lives harder for ourselves and others. We can’t heal the past by dwelling on it, turning it over and over, or being stubborn.
Marianne Williamson wrote:
“Something amazing happens when we surrender and just love. We melt into another world, a realm of power already within us. The world changes when we change, the world softens when we soften. The world loves us when we choose to love the world.”
We suffer our pain as often as is necessary, to learn our lessons.We must lead the way with love and light and let go of the ego-mind.Sometimes suffering is created by outside forces, like when a loved one dies or illness strikes us or if an accident happens. Some people are also deeply affected by watching the news and they take on other people's suffering.
As I lost my son last year I felt a deep pain entering my heart, not only spiritually but physically too. I felt as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest and somebody had hit me with a hammer on my head. My legs went weak as if the floor gave out under my feet. My eyes and my mouth were dry and wide open and there was this silent scream......no, no, no! After a few days I thought I would not be able to live anymore.
Through the teachings of yoga I learned to become mindful, to create intentions and to be in stillness. In the stillness is the answer to creating peace love, compassion. We find the courage in our hearts to let go of pain, and at the same time acknowledging those feelings. Being present with our feelings and sensations helps us learn to accept the unacceptable. Through meditation we learn to awaken, to watch instead of react. We are invited to make friends with the whole of ourselves, just the way we are and to forgive others and ourselves. We can let go of the ego-mind, the stories in our head and alter our attitudes. We can truly surrender and love what is!
