A thought

[Gecko]

Every experience in life has something to teach me if I pay attention, including (and sometimes especially) the 'negative' ones...

 

Also, any experience, personal situation, or subject that at first may appear damaging or undesirable may hold a hidden blessing that wouldn't have come to me otherwise. (It may even come in the future.)

 

Those 'negative' things only become damaging and lead to suffering if I fail to recognize the above two statements, or fail to be thankful for that which I still have.

 

Now the challenge is to remember those things in the moment, and perhaps learn to use the power of that knowledge to keep my head above the water when it matters most...

 

Life is such a complex web of themes and events; it seems nothing (in specific) can be labeled as 'good' or 'bad'.

[Mrs Elliott Smith]

Your post is so true. But I'd like to add something to it, if you don't mind.

 

On the subject of negative things that happen in our lives . . . not only should we try to find a lesson to learn from it, but we should also avoid dwelling on the experience.

 

Instead of dwelling on the negatives, we should actively seek ways to: 1. prevent those experience from happening again, and 2. do what we can to ameliorate any negative situations that we are in. Our energy is better used on prevention and problem solving than it is dwelling, whining, and crying.

[Mrs Elliott Smith]

PS: Do you all think this is easier said than done??

[anggrace]

For me it is! Mostly to do with fights Ive had. Its hard to get over cruel words or actions commited by people you love. Last night I found an old letter that made me sick to my stomach. I havent felt the same since then. I guess it just takes a while, for me, to get over certain negative experiences.

[Gecko]

Absolutely

 

I might add something again as well; in regards to actions by others that hurt greatly - I try to find forgiveness by putting myself in their shoes for a moment and re-create the experience from their perspective and mindset.

 

None of these things always work, and it seems there will always be at least some suffering involved, but they seem to have made coping a little easier in the few times I've pulled off these skills. In the end, the Reasoning Mind cannot totally turn around the Emotional Mind (natural reactions to a happenstance), but I think it can make riding the waves easier for both us and others around us.

[Baby Carrot]

we should actively seek ways to: 1. prevent those experience from happening again, and 2. do what we can to ameliorate any negative situations that we are in. Our energy is better used on prevention and problem solving than it is dwelling, whining, and crying.

 

Dwelling, whining and crying is part of life. Is human. Is better to let it out than to make it aside, ignore it and repress it. That's a great way of becoming neurotic, craving to have a 99.999% positive experience the 99.999% of time.

 

A complete life of prevention and problem solving is absolutely steryl and fake and an utopia.

 

Today's society is just crazy about creating a "germ free" environment, which is impossible. Being alive is getting dirty. Physically and emotionally.

 

:splat: