Very long post but so worth it!; Suffering and Expectation

So good to be back!

This is an article I contributed to Your Tewksbury Today:

“Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is... The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds.

” ~Dan Millman, author of 'Way of the Peaceful Warrior

I like to use quotes by Dan Millman because he was my first introduction to the way of the Peaceful Warrior, a mix of Eastern and Western thought which proposes a practical approach to spiritual living.

He writes of a conversation which took place between himself and his mentor, to whom he had humorously assigned the name Socrates.

"You practice gymnastics," Socrates said. "I practice everything."

Because Socrates had learned to release expectation and embrace each moment, he had the emotional energy to spend hours training himself to apply the perfect amount of emotional, physical and spiritual leverage to every single moment.

Consider the amount of emotional freedom that comes with releasing expectation and how much you could accomplish with the energy spared; the world laid out before you like a playground.

All yours.

Not a single moment in your life arrives with the stipulation that you respond to it in a certain way. When we resist what comes to pass, we suffer. When, instead, we observe what comes to pass and choose to capitalize on the opportunity, we are afforded a perspective which can save us a ton of grief.

Those who choose to observe rather than resist demonstrate the ability to remain extremely calm under pressure, very often outperforming their colleagues. This is aided by the fact that they can exercise levels of patience which others cannot, allowing them to wait and watch until the perfect set of circumstances are in place to close a deal rather than attempting to force a win.

Patience and accuracy.

This is an age old reality. In primitive times, children learned at a very young age to wait for the right shot while hunting. A momentary lapse into undue haste and they would go hungry.

Releasing the compulsion to react rather than to respond was essential to their survival.

It is equally essential to us present day. Our physical health. Our emotional stability, our careers... Everything.