I've been reading a lot of Buddhist ideology and basically from what I've surmised so far, it's an ideology based on the thought that life is suffering, and the only way to free oneself from the suffering is enlightenment. To achieve enlightenment one must remove all desire, ego, pride and material possessions and achieve contentment in their self as themselves; pure and complete.
What springs to mind next, for me, is why must life be suffering? And who said suffering was so bad?
Without suffering, without conflict, without indifference we would learn nothing about each other or how to cope with the ordeals life throws at us.
Through suffering we can learn to grow inner strength, we can learn how to battle on through the hard times, we can learn to learn from our tribulations and move on. Not just so that we are better prepared for the next tribulation, but so that we can better appreciate the good times. The times free of sorrow, despair, broken dreams and fallen hopes. A time of flight and fancy, a time of delight, happiness; a time when we are ourselves completely. Times like these we can reminisce but often loose appreciation for, or more so we tend to better remember the sufferings life throws at us, rather than the happiness.
Life does not have to be suffering. Life is what you make it. And as cliché as it may sound, I can't deny its truth. You are the person who chooses whether an issue affects you and how it effects you. You choose whether to cry, whether it's depresses you or whether it makes you smile and laugh. It may not seem a conscious act but you can make it conscious. Next time you face a problem, a fear, a conflict ask yourself how you should react. Ask yourself how your reaction will benefit the situation. I'm not saying you should void yourself of emotion and reaction, but just be thoughtful about which emotion you choose.
Myself, as a young teenager would see the famine, the poor, the wars on the news. I would hear bullies taunts, I would see pupils lost and hopeless, I would see all of what I wished I didn't see. I would see it all, and urge to change it. My ideology was that if man put itself in this mess, then the only one that can get us out of the mess is man. I believed and still do believe that my purpose in life is to make a difference. Preferably a big difference and one for the better. I held the hope that I was not the only one with this ideology, I hoped there were other people whom wanted to take action not just despair about it.
I was once propositioned by a teacher about my religious beliefs. Me being such an 'always wanting to help' student, 'always doing the right thing' student, she was surprised to hear I held no strong ties to any organised religion.
I appreciated them and how people seem to need them. And I had learnt that we each are entitled to our own way of life and beliefs as long as it doesn't interfere negatively upon another being. She told me how her father was atheist and that he mocked religions and their hypocrisy yet had once told her that he envied the hope that it gave her when things were tough. Religion is a rock on which man often depends, leans and holds onto when suffering comes their way. Man holds faith in the religion and or the god that it will either take away the suffering or help them through it.
She asked if I felt the same as her father. I did not. I was not an atheist. I had a sense of spirituality; it was just not in the mould of any specific religion. And I had a sense of hope also. I told her that I had three faiths. One; is a faith in earth, Two; is a faith in man and Three; is a faith in mans connection to earth.
The faith in earth is that it will support us for as long as it deems able. The faith or rather hope in man, is that we will recognise our dependence on the earth and our destruction of the earth and change our bad habits, and the third faith was based upon the realisation that everything happens for a reason. That there are things that push and pull us in directions through life. Some name it fate, some name it god I just call it the universe. If the moon can control the tides and swell. Then I'd be surprised if the earth had no influence on our lives. Don't get me wrong though. I do not mean to say that life is set up for you. Oh no. What I mean is that opportunities are out there and there are ones that we may be better suited for and pushed and pulled away from them. But you are the one whom makes the final decision. You are the one who makes things happen. You are the one who creates what your life is today.
YOU are the one whom chooses suffering or happiness. Yes there are some things that are out of our control, but YOU are the one who chooses how it will affect you.
My last paragraph tonight will be this;
Whatever it is that you dream to do, go do it, now, whatever it is, make it happen, make it possible, make a change for the better, jump out of the suffocating comfort zone, be proud of yourself and know that you only deserve the best, but it is only you who knows what the best is and it will not lay down on your lap for it is you who must search it out.
Whatever it is, Do it.
Peaceout,
Muse on,
write it up.
~Ami Dennis
