On Suffering...

I’ve spent so much time working on releasing judgment of others - learning to notice it, catch it, and transmute it into love, understanding, and acceptance. And honestly, though I’m certainly not perfect at this, I feel like I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

But hearing this quote brought an entirely new understanding:

Of course, when we judge others, it creates suffering - for them and for us. This feels obvious. So let’s apply this to ourselves …

Who creates the greatest suffering for us?

We do.

When we judge ourselves, we double the suffering.

We are both the judge and the judged, and that pain is amplified because it touches something deep within our soul. This realization moved me deeply.

I’ve worked so hard to extend love, acceptance, and understanding to others, yet I haven’t even begun to do this for myself.

Any perceived imperfection or misstep, and the judge inside me becomes cruel, harsh, and merciless. Something about it hurts infinitely more because it comes from within.

Now, what if I were to notice the very moment where I make this judgement upon myself and I were to greet my “misstep” with immense Love and understanding, full acceptance - just as I do, or strive to do, with all other beings.

How radical.

How radically might this change the world.

My world, but the world of all others.

To be free in this way.

I think the only way to be fully loving, accepting and in total non-judgement of others is first to do this with myself. As doing it for myself feels indefinitely harder.

If I first succeed here, with me, how much freer will I be, how much happier, how much lighter, how much more joyful, how much more brain space and spirit will be free to focus on other things, to use alchemy to then free others too.

I must first focus on freeing the ‘me’ and then the ‘we’ will follow so easily.

It is a natural consequence of freeing the ‘me.’

It cannot be any other way.

So here I am, today, deciding to try to greet all of me, all of my actions, with intense love and understanding. How freeing this will be.

THIS is the key.

I will dissolve all suffering from myself the moment I learn to dissolve all judgement and transmute it into intense, all consuming love and understanding and acceptance.

This is the moment that suffering will forever be banished for all eternity.

I would love to invite you to join me. To give it a try.

Let’s practice today.

And then the day after that.

And the day after that.

Until all of eternity.