Every suffering, a seed of awareness.

We have a saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That everyday wisdom governs most of life. We pursue our paths to what we believe will produce fulfillment and pleasure, and often times this plan works until it stops working. And then we adopt a variation on this pursuit. 

What fulfills us: money, prestige, political power, fame, or other human relationships? There are different strokes for different folks. The problem is that there are no strokes that last forever. Every phenomenal thing is in motion and when the source of our pleasure turns South, so too does our sense of self-worth and happiness. That is an unarguable outcome of this pursuit.

Today I will begin a series to thoroughly explore this pattern to despair. What drives this rush to oblivion? Why does the plan not work? And what value, if any does the inevitable outcome serve? Suffering is something everyone wants to avoid and nobody can prevent, until…

But today I’ll drop a clue with the thought of where this series will lead. Not only is suffering unavoidable but it is essential in the process of awakening.