i admire this man so deeply . . .the dalai lama . . .
he said on september 24th . . . "hardship, in forcing us to exercise greater patience and forbearance in daily life, actually makes us stronger and more robust. from the daily experience of hardship comes a greater capacity to accept difficulties without losing our sense of inner calm. of course, i do not advocate seeking out hardship as a way of life, but merely wish to suggest that, if you relate to it constructively, it can bring greater inner strength and fortitude."
much of the work of tearing ourselves away from the features of our past that have held us in check . . . or maybe it would be more truthful to write . . . that we hold ourselves in check for in order to maintain their 'integrity' . . . have contained and bring into play, considerable hardship for each of us.
the work of building bridges away from that past and then reaching across the great space between the present and the future also involves degrees of hardship . . . but it's a quality of hardship that contains love and goodness and creativity and most especially . . . hope . . .
my view in this moment is that hardship that evokes hope,
is entirely worthy . . . . . . and desirable
4 comments:
And then there's that decision to begin building those bridges. Perhaps that's the most compelling hardship of all....
hope is almost always the companion of hardship for how else would we get through it?
i have noticed in myself (having gone through a brief period of darkness) that people are more engaged with complaint and condemnation, a shared reviling of the world. this saddens me. why must we seek comraderie in this kind of pain, not the acceptance of pain and hardship, but the fight of it?
i try to re-center myself and find a better way again. but each time i fail i am so sorry for the setback, not just with myself, but that which i transfer onto others.
we must breathe through the hardship. i must find my way more peacefully.
right now i wonder if there is a good practice to use as a framework so that when i falter, at least i do not transfer my bad work. (it occurs to me there is. it might be so simple i never noticed. it might be quiet.)
xo
erin
Clarissa Pinkola Estes reminds us that mountains were made by earthquakes....
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