lessgravity

I love that thought.

Sobriety often feels like a place that should be filled with the joy of a life reclaimed, confidence, a feeling of living well again finally. But there is also the struggle and suffering that is life, for all of us, every living thing.

To suffer well, sober, with patience and empathy.

Just a thought for the day.

wpainterw

“He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our despair, against our own will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.”

(Aeschylus-lines 179-182 of the Agamemnon)

W.

lessgravity

Love that line WPW, thanks for it.

quitforme79

love this, thank you. So true.

ImperfectlyMe

Thanks less thanks painter

Hevyn

Wonderful & helpful thoughts. Thank you.

Soberpotamus

This brings to mind: "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional."

There is a statement in Women For Sobriety, statement #4... "Problems bother me only to the degree I permit them to. I now better understand my problems and do not permit problems to overwhelm me."

In Buddhism, there are the Four Noble Truths:

1. The first noble truth is that life is frustrating and painful.
2. The second noble truth is that suffering has a cause.
3. The third noble truth is that the cause of suffering can be ended.
4. This is the fourth noble truth: the way, or path to end the cause of suffering. The central theme of this way is meditation.

All in all, Buddhism is about cessation, or nirvana. "We no longer need to manipulate things as they are into things as we would like them to be." And this sort of reminds me of the Serenity Prayer

Mirage74

I needed to read that right now, Soberjennie. Maybe I should look into Buddhism, although I don't know if I have the patience for meditating. This is a good thread, thanks for posting everyone.

Soberpotamus

You can start out 5-10 minutes a day. And keep doing it. Gradually increasing the time. I think it will naturally increase if you make a habit of doing it daily. I think the key is to make it happen daily.

Mirage74

I don't even know how to meditate. Do you need music? I do contemplate things a lot in my spare time, I wonder if that counts. Maybe I'll go look into a book or two.

neferkamichael

Lessgravity, well said, FANTASTIC.

lessgravity

For those interested in Meditation there is the excellent book Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat Zinn.

Soberpotamus

I read this one and really liked it: http://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/mindf...in_english.pdf