Hi Folks,
I hope your week has been as productive as mine.
It seems "the message" was on point, as I feel a certain depth of peace and certainty this week that has made it easy to be alive and moving forward with the things I want to achieve.
If you missed the last letter where I explained "the message" you can read it here - https://clarkescott.substack.com/p/comparison-kills-meaning
Thank you for all the wonderful emails and well-wishes—it's heartwarming to know that when we share we live more connected.
But it is also worth noting that I share all the bumps and bruises because it feels authentic to do so. Perhaps I am wrong in thinking this way but I feel this is important, at least for me.
So thank you all for being here.
Speaking of which, there was a wonderful comment with some questions that I thought would be worth exploring.
Here’s the comment from Roberta T,
It’s interesting how time matures one’s understanding of self…only way one can have meaning is thru direct experience… makes one wonder how long you’d been suffering with what to do with your life now that you weren’t a monk? Do we have to be pushed against a wall before we consider prayer & where does trust play into our lives?
Thank you Roberta for the wonderful comment.
Here are my thoughts:
One can only make sense of life by looking backward. However we live moving forward, and this has a degree of uncertainty baked in. None of us know what is coming. We can plan all we like but plans often fail. And perhaps the outcome was going to happen whether or not we planned it.
That may sound fatalistic but we do have free-will inasmuch as we have control of our own minds. Therefore we can choose to experience things as lessons or as suffering.
My Tibetan teacher would sometimes talk about what he called, "wanted and unwanted suffering."
A headache is an unwanted suffering. But the suffering from working towards a meaningful goal, is, in fact, not suffering. A pretty simple concept and one that I’m sure we can all agree is true.
So I would put the suffering I’ve experienced from my search for meaning into the latter bucket. Sure, it is suffering but it is useful suffering for it has got me to where I am today. And this is a wonderful thing. Truly wonderful.
I also believe, “the message” will always be delivered at the exact right time we need them. In my case, the same prayer a month before would not have had the same impact. I needed to go through what I’ve been through in order to be in the position to receive it.
It may feel like being pushed against a wall, and perhaps it is, but without that pressure to transform no transformation will come.
For me, one of the most beautiful things about life is that we can choose to push ourselves against the wall. And by doing so, we come closer to who we really are…deep…deep…deep down inside.
much love,
Clarke