It Might Just Rain...?

I read an email the other day that included a piece written by Stephen Levine. "Fear is MY pain, compassion is THE pain."

What resonated for me was the realization that the bigger pain that calls for our compassion is echoed by the personal pain that we feel as individuals. But do not be confused by the words bigger or little. This is about the bigger picture and our personal experience within it.

When we forget the nature of things, or who we are, and the Infinite Potential we have acccess to it becomes easy to be distracted by both the personal and bigger pains about us. How easy it is to feel pain, forget ourselves and become overwhelmed by it. How subtle it is to unconsciously (or consciously) feel the bigger pains around us. And in turn, when we do not understand this we confuse both the bigger and personal pain. The result, we feel pain.

How distracting that must be.

What resonated for me in Stephen's comment was that it reminds us of the nature of things. The pains we feel are not actually our suffering. They are opportunities to realize that these pains are not us, they are about us. Pain is like a coat. We can put it on and wear it, and suddenly we find a practical application when it keeps us warm. Sometimes pain is a very necessary part of our learning, and our growth.

But the coat is not who we are. It is something we pick up and put down as the situation warrants. Likewise, pain is something that we pick up and put down. Sometimes we become absorbed in the story of the pain. We start putting on the coat because we look out the window and see clouds even though there is no rain. Then we might find ourselves putting on our coat because it rained yesterday. And before we know it, we are wearing the coat all the time.

How is this relevant? What can you do with this? I think the first step is to make a choice to acknowledge how you wear your coat, or your pain. Can you be honest with yourself? Do you confuse the pain around you with your pain? Do you recite the story behind your pain and take comfort in it? If answers begin to come up ask yourself what might be causing this behaviour or pattern of thinking.

Perhaps the first step is realizing that you now wear your coat all the time, just in case?