“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” Supposedly this quote was first given by Buddha, and made popular by Haruki Murakami, and the Dalai Lama
But… what does it mean? Why did they say that?
You might be surprised to know that some of the things I share are similar in terms understanding not only this, but about life itself
And yes, I am a Catholic
That does not mean I cannot learn from other religions
After all, I do find that most, if not all religions share some common themes
In fact, there are some Catholic priests who went to learn Buddhism in order to become better Catholics
There was even a Pope, Pope John XXIII, who encouraged Catholics to enhance one’s spiritual life through a practice of Zen (Published in this research report)
Pretty cool huh?
Coming back to the topic of suffering
Of hypnosis, the mind and suffering being a choice
What gives?
You might recall how I share how the mind is shaped during childhood, where whatever the parents are saying, doing etc is shaping the unconscious mind of the child in terms of beliefs, patterns and values etc
And this can be supplemented with what Buddha mentioned in the quote below
Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draws it. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.
Gautama Buddha
In a sense, this is also similar to how I share about the Law of Attraction, that whatever exists in our mind, can potentially manifest into reality
So when we break the quote into 2 parts, “Pain is inevitable”
Whatever our parents do, to each other or to us, good or bad, we will have a perception of things as a child and this forms in the unconscious mind
And once it is in the mind, there is potential for it to manifest outwards into our reality
So positive experience creates more positive experience, negative experiences creates more negative experiences
Even if your entire life, your parents only had 1 argument that you observed, there is a potential for that single argument to become a problem for you in the future
I had a 40 year old lady with depression, anxiety and panic attacks that occur at 4pm every day and when we did hypnosis, we found out that it was seeded into her when she was a baby and her parents argued beside her while she was hungry and crying at 4pm
Consciously she will have no idea this ever happened!
But because it was seeded into her unconscious mind, it grew and become this massive issue of depression, anxiety and even, 4pm panic attacks
This is why, “Pain is inevitable”
It is understandable to have small stuff happening between parents
Things happen
And it will create negative experiences in the future
That brings us to the second part of the quote on suffering
“Suffering is optional”, and of course, why suffering is a choice
Now that we understand that a number of our current negative experiences are derived from our childhood experiences
We can choose to continue life as it is, and thus continue to suffer!
Or we can choose to find ways to release and let go of such negative patterns that hold us back or limit us, thereby being free from suffering
As an example, if my girlfriend broke up with me, and yes, I can feel the pain and heartache
I might take some time to sit with the emotion, could be days, could be weeks
But if I choose to hold onto the emotions and memories of her, even after years!!
That can only mean that I choose to continue to suffer isn’t it?
By choosing not to move on, I continue to dwell in the pain and sadness
Yet once I choose to let go of her and move on with life, I can find a new partner, new love
Or I might choose to focus on myself first, self love, resolving my issues if any
You can see pretty clearly why suffering is said to be a choice
Of course, I am not saying that if you had a break up yesterday, then just let go and move on today
You might still need some time to accept this turn of events
The shock of say, the passing of a loved one, can take some time to cope and settle too
All this is understandable
So what’s next?
Let me quickly share the 3As to solving issues in life and you will understand
1. Awareness
First, you need to be aware of the problem
To know where the issue is, to know where it is coming from, and even how it can affect you in the present or future
2. Acceptance
Then you need to accept that you do have this problem
As well as accept there are solutions, from the method like how to solve, or even what is required to solve
3. Action
Lastly, once you are aware of the issue and accept the issue, only then can you take the right action to solve the issue
Because if you are not aware of an issue, you don’t think you got a problem even if everyone else sees it clear as day!
Or perhaps you are aware of the issue, but you don’t accept it to be real
This is more of a state of denial
You might be aware of the issue, or you don’t accept the solution method to resolve it
Naturally, this means you can’t take the action to solve it
If you are doing the wrong action, then you don’t solve the issue at all
On top of that, you might even make the issue worse!
So why am I sharing all this about suffering?
Essentially if you recognize that you have issues and want to resolve them, taking the right actions is key
If you choose not to be aware of the issue, or accept the issue is affecting you, then to be honest, no one can help you
Bringing it back full circle to the initial line, the pain is there and will continue to be there, until you choose to seek and do the right actions to stop suffering
Today’s sharing seems a bit heavy, but I hope you gained something from it 🙂
Cheers!
