Tuesday - May 27, 2025
Another Day in the Bonus Round
I say this often when someone asks “How are you?” - “Still breathing! Another day in the bonus round.” By this, I mean that we are very fortunate to be maintaining our homeostasis! When we think about it, we can all be grateful for the experience of being alive in spite of the fact that it entails inevitable death and interim suffering.
I do what I can to mitigate suffering but not to deny its existence. We collectively tend to be much like field mice; running from pain and seeking pleasure. It is only natural. We do this unconsciously, much of the time, I believe. If we were to engage our minds more and watch our behavior, we might be slower to react to the stimuli that are presented to us in the day-to-day events we experience.
The quality of our suffering could be raised to a more meaningful level if we were to pay attention to it and recognize its origins in the moment that we experience it. As I am writing this, I’m realizing that I am talking primarily about the physical suffering one endures on the way from cradle to grave. However, there is another kind of suffering which most of us experience; mental suffering. In many cases, the cause of our mental suffering is in wanting something to be different than it is. Until we can either take action to change that which we wish to be different; getting what we want when we want it, or, more appropriately, accept a situation, thing, or person as being exactly the way that it is in the moment, we are likely to experience mental suffering. This suffering on the mental plain can be sheer torture. However, it is, essentially, self-inflicted.
So these are some of the thoughts of the moment. I’d love to know what you all are thinking these days and if you too are suffering and from what?
At the moment, I feel like I am not suffering a bit and if I were, I’d have gratitude for it since there’s nothing like suffering to remind one that one is still in the game of “Beat The Reaper” - (with apologies to the Firesign Theater.)
Your words provided a pause in my day for meaningful reflection. Radical acceptance: not wanting things to be different than they are. I first heard that in therapy some years ago. It's a practice and life provides me plenty of opportunities. I have much greater awareness than I once did and live mindfully which helps.