Good, Bad or Something Else.
During difficulties we might hear the phrase, “It builds character!” True, if we glean the lessons inherent in the problem. But we also learn from joyful states….if we use the lessons inherent in them. The point is, every state is loaded with Grace.
It’s common for people to think there’s something wrong with them if they feel bad, that they are somehow guilty of misunderstanding, or acting out a flaw, or being over-reactive or out of touch. They’ll want to cover up or ignore the pain in order to get back to feeling better as quick as possible. Often they’ll take quick action to try to remedy the outside situation, thinking that the event is what caused the pain. It’s “When life is better, I’ll feel better” logic.
But we all know the same pain keeps popping up, triggered by different situations. Until the powerful energy hiding within that pain is released, it eats at us, trips us up, repeats itself like a broken record. We keep acting the same way, expecting different results.
It can take what feels like heroic bravery to stop and partake in self-inquiry. Hidden within the problem are huge blessings and power, but collecting it isn’t a cake-walk. It requires rigorous honestly. Instead of falling back on coping skills and excuses to numb the pain, we have to discover and admit how the pain originates in us, not our outside situation. Initially, it feels like we’re taking on more pain.
And when in a “positive” state for any length of time, it’s easy to think: I’m doing well, things are on the right track, I’m on to something here. These judgements of mind qualities are attachments. We equate our outside successes to a correlated specialness about us, something we want to hold onto to prove to ourselves that life is on our side, that we are blessed, that our efforts to be a good person have paid off. The longer it lasts, the worse we feel when life does what it does: it turns a corner we didn’t expect or want.
Becoming free from the good and bad labels of these states is the ticket. Diligently finding the hidden treasure within every curve ball that comes our way, and knowing This Too Shall Pass when things are smooth sailing is a jolly way of articulating some of the deep and profound parts of awakening. There is another state, a different paradigm completely from being tossed about by the events that happen in our life.
There is a state that’s free of the constructs of our mind. What does it feel like? Freedom. Openness. Warmth. Clarity. They sound like good feelings, don’t they? But they’re different from the “I Got This” mentality that comes with things going our way. The awakened state is completely independent of what’s happening, yet it’s integrated with it, too. It accepts what is. It allows experiences of all kinds to come and go with equal ease.
For most it’s a journey to start experiencing the awakened state. It starts in little bits and can expand to take up more and more of the day. We can get to be adepts at uncovering our warped perspectives and cherishing the wonders that were hidden by them. We can get to be really good at gleaning the blessings of all states, and we can learn not just to acknowledge the Grace inherent in them, but to live in it. Stick around to learn the ways to do it.
