The truth is, you are welcome to live in suffering.

I am not being cheeky or sarcastic. It is simply the truth.

You are absolutely welcome to be fearful, worried, full of judgement, and doubting everything all the time.

You can also be resentful, unforgiving, revengeful, and angry if you want to. If you are committed to these beliefs and behaviors, go for it. Throw in greediness, too, if you like.

You have free will. You have the power to choose.

This is the total truth. You can do whatever you want.

However, some behaviors will bring a good result and some behaviors will bring a negative result. This is not personal. This is just the law of the land in this human realm. The sooner this is accepted, the sooner you can get on with choosing intentions and behaviors that will bring beneficial results.

We can call this karma if we want, but honestly, there is no need. It is simply a basic energy exchange occurring instantly in every moment.

I find this way of thinking motivating and am so grateful that it is this simple.

I like thinking about it in Buddhist terminology. There are wholesome thought-forms and unwholesome thought-forms. So, when it is time to reach for a thought-form, simply choose from the wholesome pile.

In the Wholesome Pile of Thought-forms we have:

>> Patience

>> Compassion

>> Love

>> Peace

>> Joy

>> Contentment

>> Forgiveness

>> Understanding

>> Openness

>> Acceptance

>> Trust

In the Unwholesome Pile of Thought-forms we have:

>> Anger

>> Jealousy

>> Comparing

>> Judgement

>> Righteousness

>> Arrogance

>> Resentment

>> Revengeful

>> Self-pity

>> Blame

And of course so many more.

But this is the main task we have to do every day—choose which thought-forms and accompanying reactions we are going to have.

It reminds me of the story of the person who asked the Tibetan monk if he was scared when he was jailed and tortured by his Chinese captors. The Tibetan monk answered, yes, he was scared. He was scared he was going to have hate toward his captors.

This shows how bad hate is for us on our journeys.

But it is difficult not to have hate. There are so many things to hate in the world. There are so many things to dislike and be angry about. This isn’t your fault. The game of human existence is not an easy one.

But once we understand that how we react to the world around us is crucial, we can train ourselves to have different, and more wholesome reactions to life’s experiences, and we can set our sights on going in that direction.

You will mess up. Oh yes, you definitely will. You will reach into that unwholesome pile of thought-forms again and again and again and fling your reactions all over people and situations all the time. This is a definite. But then those situations will become an opportunity to reach again into the wholesome pile of thought-forms and engage in the greatness of forgiveness, acceptance, and trust.

Each and every day, many events will occur that you don’t like. I know this for a fact. The world can really suck, and disappointment is constant.

There is absolutely nothing we can really do to change the external world. Our reactions are the only place our power lies. This is where we need to keep our focus.

It rains when you wish it was sunny, go ahead and be pissed off. It’s unlikely being pissed off is going to clear the clouds in the sky, and it is also unlikely being pissed off is going to bring you any results that feel good. But go ahead and be pissed off about it raining and watch the result this brings in your life. Just see what happens. The natural energy exchange of that reaction will result. It just will.

There is no point having self-pity about how we have reacted in the past. And there is no point feeling fearful that we won’t be able to react in wholesome ways in the future.

The present moment is the only one that exists; therefore, what each of us needs to do is to just plant ourselves in the present moment again and again and again and ask what is going on with us right now, and how we can best react to bring a beneficial result to the situation for everyone involved. This takes time and focus but is worth it.

Fighting the reality in front of us by thinking it is the wrong reality is a distrustful way to live. Starting by simply trusting that all events right now in our path are the right events for us, and then remembering that all we need to do is choose a wholesome way to react to that reality, can become empowering when practiced on repeat.

You will need to encourage yourself in this direction. You will need to remind yourself that this is who you want to be and what you want to do.

And then, as your life improves, and you find more ease and benefit coming into your life, your confidence in your ability to choose from the wholesome pile of thought-forms will increase, and you will know for sure you are on the right track.

~