It's okay to suffer.
Yes,
We would all prefer not to suffer.
We all prefer the Buddha's third noble truth,
The cessation of suffering,
To the first noble truth,
The truth that there is suffering,
Or in other words,
That the world is dissatisfaction.
Specifically,
When we attach to it,
When we grasp at things or push things away,
In other words,
When we want things to be other than they are.
But this first noble truth is on the list for a reason.
It is a truth.
It is in our nature as thinking human beings to want,
To desire,
To grasp at some things,
And be averse to others.
In fact,
This is what got us out of the sea in evolutionary terms,
And later out of the jungle,
And later forming civilizations.
Desire and aversion served a purpose.
Now though,
In this time of abundance,
They really have very little use,
Aside from keeping us stuck in that first noble truth of suffering or the more accurate translations of the Pali word dukkha,
Dissatisfaction or resistance.
What I mean when I say it's okay to suffer is precisely that it's in your nature.
It's why there are spiritual teachings and spiritual practices in the first place.
If there were no first noble truth,
If there were no dissatisfaction or resistance or suffering,
Then there would be no need for either of us to be here.
And indeed,
We would simply be living that third noble truth,
The cessation of suffering,
Without any need for so much as a word of spiritual teaching.
It is natural to desire some things and push other things away.
It is natural to be dissatisfied with the world.
It is natural to be in resistance to the way things are.
And the best thing to do about this is to first of all accept this first noble truth.
And this puts us in a much better position to continue a spiritual practice than the other option of creating more resistance,
Resistance to being in resistance.
And so I say it's okay to suffer.
When you suffer,
Be kind to yourself.
Be gentle with yourself.
Then you come into a condition in which letting go is possible.
Full acceptance means accepting even your resistance,
Even your dissatisfaction.
And viewing it like we view the weather.
Even a rainy day is beautiful.
