So true. Sound familiar? And Pema doesn't even have herpes. (At least as far as I know.) ;) This feeling that we are unique in having something that seems to be a block to our happiness is, in fact, universal.
"Nothing ever really attacks us except our own confusion. Perhaps there is no solid obstacle except our own need to protect ourselves from being touched. Maybe the only enemy is that we don’t like the way reality is now and therefore wish it would go away fast, but what we find is that nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. If we run a hundred miles an hour to the other end of the continent in order to get away from the obstacle, we find the very same problem waiting for us when we arrive. It just keeps returning with new names, forms, manifestations until we learn whatever it has to teach us about where we are separating ourselves from reality, how we are pulling back instead of opening up, closing down instead of allowing ourselves to experience fully whatever we encounter, without hesitating or retreating into ourselves.”
— Pema Chödrön
My grandma always used to say "No matter where you go, there you are". It is so true - I think that herpes is sort of that magnifying glass on all that we are trying to run away from. I know for myself, it has been that opportunity to stop and really look at all that I have been trying to run a hundred miles an hour to get away from. For the first time I have sat with my fears, my insecurities, my darkest parts of myself and really had a good look and started to work with them. I now see all that I had tried to run away from as a gift, as painful as some of it was and is. It was easier in the short term to shut down, turtle my feelings and run. It's universal though, no matter who we are. None of us want to get hurt and we all want to find the easy way to happiness. I am learning the only way to happiness is through the stuff I am trying to hide and run away from.
I love Pema. She is so wise and has a way of saying things that ring so true for me.
Incredible! Thank you. She is such a wise lady.
I stumbled upon a book of hers not too long ago that's also been helping me along this healing journey. Part of one passage ('Difficulty is Inevitable') particularly stands out...
"It is so basic in us to feel that things should go well for us, and that if we start to feel depressed, lonely, or inadequate, there's been some kind of mistake or we've lost it. In reality, when you feel depressed, lonely, betrayed, or any unwanted feelings, this is an important moment on the spiritual path. This is when real transformation can take place."
~The Pocket Pema Chodron, pg. 11.
Love, love.
LOVING the quotes on this post...thank you!! :D
