A while ago I was asked to explain what I meant by the title statement. I explained what it means to all of us, and why we really cannot take suffering personally, or even hold on to things that were difficult in our past or could be difficult in our future.

I gave this to you about 6 years ago. Because it seems to be a theme for many at this time, I figured taking a new look is in order. As usual, sections have been rewritten.

Suffering is universal, which is why we shouldn’t take suffering personally. We have all suffered at some point from a variety of sources and causes. It teaches us detachment, compassion, discrimination, and how to choose a better way for our minds and hearts in the moment, steering our focus away from our suffering into a greater love and compassion for ourselves and all our loved ones.

Life is painful. That’s a fact for all of us. But we do not have to suffer one instant longer than we choose to. I once read a great one state that the primary task for us is to break the link between pain and suffering. Once we do that, we can regard any painful situation with the eyes of dispassion and compassion, fully feeling the experience while not getting lost in suffering over the experience.

When I state "ALL situations are temporary in an impermanent reality" I mean that is the universal state of affairs for ALL of us. All things are temporary because time moves on, our experience moves on, our perceptions move on, our relationships move on, our feelings move on, and life moves on. Nothing is permanent except the eternal flow of awareness in the moment. That's why, as we move through temporary situations in this ever-changing reality, it's good to just BE in the NOW.

Living in the present prevents the thieves of the past and future from stealing our present. Getting lost in memories of past suffering only brings the experience of it forward as we struggle with our suffering. While it’s good to examine what brought us difficulties in the past so we don’t perpetuate those patterns, too often people get hung up on what was, forgetting what IS. We have the power to break the link between past pain and current suffering, but we must choose to do that instead of cling to the negatives of our past experience.

While we must learn to let go of being attached to past difficulties, getting lost in potential future difficulties that could lead to suffering is also a problem, since it only fixes that picture in our subconscious mind, which we should not do. Many things never materialize, and even when they do, we have the power to control our own experience of that which we face, and what actions, feelings, and thoughts we choose to express.

We must dream a better dream if we are to move in that direction despite our uncertainly in the present moment. I’ve found that even if a potential future is denied us, there is always a better future perfect for us if we can get out of our own way. That means getting rid of the expectation that the future will simply continue patterns that have led to our current suffering and uncertainty.

Even when life shows us some things we don't want to face, we always have the power to respond as we choose. And the only sane response is to take the high road, whatever that means at the time. This is about learning to love ourselves and our life, overcoming any tendency we have to cling to our suffering. That's why staying in the NOW is the only way to live if we want to find peace.

We can only love right here and now. We can only be wise right here and right now. We can only be as we are, right here and right now, while striving to be the best we can, whether in "good times" or "bad times." We ALL have both throughout our lives, since we are attached to pleasure while trying to avoid the pain of life in this impermanent and ever-changing elusive reality.

Here I’ll note that the most dramatic changes occur when we are challenged. When we confront that which forces us out of comfortable assumptions and requires that we mobilize to deal with a challenge or opportunity, our creative imagination kicks in and we begin to realize all kinds of things we didn’t just a moment before.

That’s the cutting edge of evolution, and why we confront changing conditions. If nothing is permanent except Love, then everything in our impermanent reality serves to bring us out of fear into Love, and out of ignorance into greater awareness. Every experience can remind us of who we really are, merest specks of Loving Light in an infinite field of particles and waves of Light-Love.

We are an Eternal Consciousness moving through impermanent and ever-changing perceptions. Our nature is that of radiant and eternal Loving Wise Intelligence. When we are living that 24/7, then suffering has no place to enter or take hold in our lives.

Though life can be painful at times, we do not have to suffer. There is nothing that “makes” us be in a non-loving state. We ARE Love, and everything else is illusion. And whether we like it or not, it seems one of our primary tasks while we’re alive is to break the link between pain and suffering.

All things change. We get attached to things and people and ideas about ourselves and loved ones and work and play and children and siblings and public opinion and the other 10,000 distractions. At some point we or they or it moves on.

As our life moves forward, our own views move on as we choose which ones to modify and which ones to cling to. How much we suffer from changing conditions depends entirely on our point of view, and whether we’re willing to move forward as the loving Eternals that we are rather than stay lost in memories or apprehensions. Stay focused on experiencing yourself as the Love you always are, and many things will fulfill themselves perfectly.

Here I’ll encourage all of you to take a look at the masterwork “Through the Gates of Gold.” There’s a link in the Metaphysical section near the bottom of the lower left side of this site. This amazing gem explains some spiritual realities that all of us move through connected to pleasure and pain and the search for fulfillment in life. It's a pretty easy read, and can help clear up many questions about why we're here on Earth and how we can get beyond the emotions and ideas that don't help us. Please check it out.

We are Spirits in the material world. Often the material creation is not easily moved. Still, though many things are difficult, regardless of all outer conditions and our experience of those ever-changing outer conditions, we ARE Love-Wisdom-Intelligence.

We are an infinite and eternal Loving Consciousness having human experiences. We are Love beyond our wildest imagination, with powers we’ve never dreamt of. When we get out of our own way, our potential to live our dream, our ultimate Truth, is unbounded. That’s how free we really are.

© Copyright 2019 Robert Wilkinson - https://www.aquariuspapers.com
Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with persmission from Robert Wilkinson.

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