Today I have been reading about dukkha, as in, 'life is dukkha' which translates to 'life is suffering'. What this really means is that life includes suffering, anguish, stress, mild feelings of dis-ease, irritation etc. Dukkha also reflects the gap between what is happening now and what we wish was happening! Oh lordy, I have been there so very often.
Accepting that this is the nature of our imperfect existence is liberating, particularly to a parent, as children make this great noble truth inescapable. Accepting brings inner peace. It also opens us up to two ways of responding.
The first, which is ineffectual over the long term but sometimes necessary, is to accept the nature of our existence through denial. Keeping on smiling even though the world is falling apart around you, and you are uptight and tense inside, because that is just the way it is.
The second, is to make a choice in any given moment as to where you place your attention. You can chose to have a look at what is causing you to feel dukkha by asking yourself questions and sitting with the discomfort. Stepping outside of yourself to have a look at what is happening both externally and within your own mind. Or you can choose to pay attention to the beauty of the moment, focus on your breath, the beauty of your children, a flower, your garden, anything that brings you back to the moment and places your attention somewhere more inspiring.
For me, it all comes back to mindfulness. Can I remove myself from how I am feeling for that brief moment needed in order to divert my attention? It's a bit like a child having a tantie (tantrum), are they too far gone for the standard diversion technique to work? Likely they aren't. I try it on myself all the time.
What inspiring thing takes your attention and helps you to deal with your dukkha?
No comments:
Post a Comment