Thursday, August 07, 2008

Dejection


The Buddhists tell us:
  1. Life means suffering.
  2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
Well, today, I'm living it, baby. I've been denied something on which I had set my heart and my hopes for the future. I'm afraid I can't reveal any of the specifics, and they're not important to this discussion anyway.

Suffice it to say that I'm suffering today. I'm suffering because I had formed an attachment to a potentiality that did not come to fruition. I had begun to imagine a transformation in my life; a change that I imagined would be for the better. Well, the transformation did not take place and the imagined better life is no longer a potentiality.

Of course, there is no way to know if, had the transformation occurred, my life would actually have improved. It may well have turned out to be less than I imagined, less than what I hoped for. So, I temper my dejection with that knowledge.

Nonetheless, it hurts to lose a dream.

Now, I have to gather myself, shake off the disappointment, and start all over again. Everyone knows disappointment; it's part of being human. And, it's important to keep in mind that things could be a whole lot worse.

No real epiphanies or insights today, I'm afraid. Just an acknowledgment of the wisdom of the Buddha. Life is suffering.

4 comments:

Eclectic Dilettante said...

Sorry

Ridwan said...

Struggle on brother. Other dreams fill the void, always.

Don't stop dreaming past losses, failures, and frustrations.

There is truth in not being attached to just one dream, or one version of a dream.

You will rise to hope again. You have said so much here on many an occasion.

Peace and struggle brother,
Ridwan

Shus li said...

Many ghosts crowd me at every turn...

Myself at age 10 escaping reality by watching a movie on the big screen with rapt attention...

My grandchild whose feet only walked on the stars before he made his return voyage...

10 cats, 3 dogs, 1000 laughs, 5000 delicious meals, lost friends, lost love....

Beautiful things broken...

Broken things made whole again....

May your heart be healed.

Rhonda/Shus li

Ridwan said...

Struggle on brother. Other dreams fill the void, always.

Don't stop dreaming past losses, failures, and frustrations.

There is truth in not being attached to just one dream, or one version of a dream.

You will rise to hope again. You have said so much here on many an occasion.

Peace and struggle brother,
Ridwan