Thread by @AnaMyID

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of our humanity is actually our tendency to displace our Dukkha onto others; to scapegoat others for something that we have going on and which goes away only for the briefest of moments, the fantasies of Nirvanists aside.

While exploring the Modoc National Forest near Mount Shasta in California (a fabulous time for me!) I was in the company of an attractive man. We were strolling about taking in the vibes, sights sounds and (usually unfortunately) smells... 1/

I found an incredible grove of Quaking Aspens. Entering the grove, we were in a magical wonderland of shimmering dashes of bright sunlight gated to the interior by the gently quivering leaves... 2/

For me, the experience was stunning and instantly hypnotic. The mushrooms probably helped, but I have subsequently sought out similar aspen groves in season, to be suitably entranced again and again. 3/

Anyway, I was shocked & disappointed when the my male companion expressed his distress at the sound of the leaves as they rustled in the wind. He had to leave the grove (no pun) lest he explode in anger at this phenom of nature; he did not want to "ruin the mood", as he said. 4/

I offer this as an example of our unfortunate tendency to offload our Dukkha onto whatever platform happens to be convenient. 5/

Having no clue that our primary pain is simply a feature of being alive and relatively conscious, and is something that will not go away for any length of time, we tend to gather up the resentments we carry and fire them off at any target of convenience. 6/

But in the case of the aspen grove, the actual trigger seems to have been the infamous *silence*.

Against the background of silence, Dukkha appears as a fearsome dancing deity of death; so is it any wonder our impulse to cover it over, with a rich compost of distress emotion? 7/

We have accumulated a fantastic lore of the "killing of death", which is the legacy of The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This has gone so far, as to eulogize the very *identity* and the hanging onto it. And all of this, as denial and deferral and defiance of Dukkha. 8/

No wonder The Buddha, eh? But even so, remarkably, it is the Buddhists who should know better, who have corrupted the meaning of 'Dukkha' into 'suffering'. 9/

Suffering comes in many species, but only one of those is Dukkha; the rest, while we can resist them, come and go, while Dukkha is a lifetime of annoying background. 10/

Life's pressures can seem unbearable at times, & it seems to me if a person can reach into his or her inner tool box & pull out the right "coping skill" for the occasion (choosing the skill to fit the circumstance is another topic), that might be the beginning of the solution 11/

I hate life sometimes. That hatred causes me to look a little more closely at what's going on to put things in a better perspective. Sometimes I can't really be myself, admit to my multiple "disorders" & confess my suicidal thoughts & the process I go thru to talk myself down 12/

Basically, it comes down to respect. After all is said and done, an abiding respect for life is still there. 13/

I write about my pain and it diminishes; it also gives me courage to talk to people about it, to really open up about who I am and therefore create an opening to find out more about who others are. 14/

People need to really understand that there is no *normal* and no certainty; it is like being a young birdie, pushed from the nest and having a hell of a time learning to fly in such a manner as befits. But befits is itself a matter of judgement, yes? 15/