We can choose to not suffer.
To be truly free you must decide you do not want to suffer any more.What holds us hostage to suffering is fear. Fear resides in the belief that our mind can control and fix what is happening to us. Your mind cannot control the world nor can it control what happens to you. The only thing we can control is our response to what happens to us. This attachment to the mind is the cause of suffering.
Life is ever unfolding,
and we give our minds the impossible task of trying to figure out and manipulate the world to fix our inner problems. We analyze and figure out ways we can cover up the fact that we are not ok inside.
We give our minds the unfathomable job of trying to create and control the world so that we can be happy. What happens if you mistreat your dog? It becomes afraid. What happens if you create the expectation that you (your mind) can figure out everything? It becomes disturbed and stressed. How can I not make a mistake? How can I make people like me? When I say something it has to be acceptable to those listening to me. I don’t want anyone to hurt me. I only want good things to happen to me. I don’t want to be embarrassed.
That we give our minds this completely unrealistic job to do is not the worst of it.
The worst is that we listen to what our mind has to say. This is a mind that is afraid and thinks it can be in control, that thinks all the time. It is always telling you that you have to change something to be better, to feel happy. This is a mind that is disturbed by fear.
For example, you may feel lonely and insufficient and your mind tells you that you need a special relationship in your life. Lack of a relationship did not cause the problem and finding someone will not solve it. The root of the problem is that you don’t feel whole and complete. This is harder to see and to face.
No matter the circumstance we can remain openhearted.
The path to freedom is surrender. Surrender your illusion that you can control the world and those around you. Surrender the dependence on your mind to figure out everything. Minds are like computers they are great aids in living our lives. They are not the answer to the problems of the psyche and soul.
What would you concede if it didn’t matter who got the credit? How much peace could you claim by trusting that the choices that you made for goodness would ultimately turn out alright? Just picture the freedom that comes from a surrendered life. – James Martin
Take the opportunity to be still.
“Not many years ago, it was access to information and movement that seemed our greatest luxury; nowadays it’s often freedom from information, the chance to sit still, that feels like the ultimate prize.“ Pico Iyer (The Virtue of Stillness)