This hopefully will be one in a series of discussions on mindfulness philosophies because guess what? Suffering never goes away. Most people, myself included, have buried their heads in the sand or tried to actively fight and control this inevitability. If you’re enlightened enough to arrive at acceptance...then you probably have no use for this stream of consciousness. Let’s assume you haven’t. I haven’t, and I’m ready to dive in. I hope you join me!
Let’s start with The Guest House, one of my favorite poems by Rumi, an exceptional and prolific 13th century poet:
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Great - for Rumi. Where does that leave us - in a world of hurt? The platitudes never end - it’s darkest before dawn, no mud, no lotus ad hominem. I wonder if the truth is that life is a lifelong unraveling of our relationships with suffering. It’s a slow, painfully slow process, one that invites our resistance. What happens when we give in, when we let suffering run its course, unopposed and in full acceptance? It doesn’t happen overnight and we certainly don’t have to know now. For now, picture what acceptance might look like. Break it down into realistic steps, and try embracing the guest house’s squatters.