Two Kinds of Suffering

The first comes from "acts of God."

Everything we don't control: accidents, illness, grief, catastrophes big and small.

Some say we should call it "pain" instead, precisely because there's nothing we can do about it.

To tell it apart from the "suffering" we create ourselves:

The entirely optional extra layer of misery we inflict on ourselves without realizing it.

It builds up little by little. It accumulates.

And I believe its main cause is this:

Not expressing who we are.

Whenever we act against ourselves. Whenever we let the intellect take over and contradict what the "deeper self" wants.

Whenever we don't follow joy.

Yes, yes: it's not always easy.

Sometimes we mistake joy for pleasure, for desire, for craving.

Sometimes we're certain that joy is wrong and that intelligence is "the voice of reason."

In that case, the backlash often doesn't come right away. For a while, we can think "we did the right thing."

But over time, these departures from joy add up.

Eventually, they create that identity we maintain and that weighs on us.

They're responsible for the morning anxiety. For our hesitations in the face of the obvious.

They paralyze pure action and trap us in our heads.

The only long-term remedy:

Act according to your nature.

Express who you are.

Follow joy.