It's such a beautifuldesignagain, becauseifitweren't fortheprevioussuffering, wedon't gettoexperiencethelatterfreedom.
Asanadult, I gottoseemyselfin a pictureandallblackandwhiteofmeas a childandmycutelittleone z whateveritisrunningwithmyarmsout, mymotherissortofverygentlyusheringmefrombehindsoyoucanseethatshe's sortofdirectingmetowardssomebodywhoyoucan't seebecausethey'reoffcamerathere, outofframefromthepicture.
But I knowbecauseofthesetting, itwascenteredAh, harborand a docwheretheboathadjust, youknow, uh, cometobirthandwe'veprobablycomeofftheboatand I'm runningtowardsmydadbecausemydadworkedontheboatandas I lookedatthatphotoandit's thisold, blackandwhiteinthisadorablelittlechildwhichyouknowisrunningtowardshisfather, whoheloveshisdadandwhatitoccurredtomeisatthatmoment, oneofthemostimportantpartsofloveistheenergyofmissingsomebody.
Wecancallthatmissingsomebodyonwhyitwassoprofoundformeistoseethatlittlechildruntowardshisdadwiththeexcitementofthefactthatfor a minute, for a minute, maybe a day, maybe a week, itcouldbelonger.
Whilstfreedomistheremembranceandtheawakeningtotheessenceofwho I amatmycore, whichisfreedomsothetwoareinextricablyconnectedandsimultaneouslynecessaryinordertoexperienceoneortheother.
Ifitweren't fortheexperienceofmissing, I don't gettogotothedepthsofthejoyoflove.
Andequally, ifitweren't forthepainandtheseeminginconvenienceofhumansuffering, then I wouldn't getThioexperiencetheelationandthejoyofliberation.
Itwouldbe a nonsensicalforpeoplewhothinktheyjustwanttobepositiveandhappy.
Thatis, like, asinine.
ItwouldbelikemesayingNo, no, no.
All I wanttodoisinhalebecausethat's sogoodbecauseyougetoxygenifyoulike.
Whatthehelllikeifitweren't forthefactthat I gettoexhaleandletgooffinthiscase, obviouslyphysiologicallybiologically, thetoxinsofcarbondioxideandstuffthatnolongerservesmebecauseit's alreadyserveditspurposeinmybody, Then I wouldn't getthejoyofhavingthatcyclicalprocessofinhaleexhalethatkeepsmealive.
Andas I transcendlie, I expandintomybiggernature, whichthenistheexperienceofliberationwhichiscontainedinthesafetythatweareheldandbeneficiariesoflifebecausewearefundamentallyloved.
Sotheway I lookatitisthatthisdimensionthatwearein a humanbeings, tomeis a revelatorydimension.
Whatdoesthatmean?
Lifewillrevealwhereyouyourselfas a being, donotexperiencefreedom.
Thatistome, thegamethat's really a footforhumanbeings, thatistheopportunitythatitistobe a humanistoawakentothetrueessenceofwho I am, ratherthanbeingdefinedbythepersonathathasbeenconditionedovertimethatisnowfoundedintheessenceofsurvival, thatistwoentirelydifferentapproachestothehumanexperience.
Oneislinearononeisvertical, right?
Solinearisokay.
Hopefully, overtime I'm goingtoimprove.
I got a promotion, I got a corneroffice, I got a biggerhome.
I got a nicercar I'vegot a littlebitmoremoneythatis, Youknow, there's againnojudgment.
Butitis a futiledeadendmethodoftryingtofindinternalvaluebyusingexternalandexogenousmeanstobringsomesenseofworthversusdiscovering.
Wow, myinherentnatureisfreedom.
Myinherentnatureislove.
Myinherentnatureispeace, andlifeisconstantlygivingmetheopportunitytoawakentothosequalitiesbyvirtueofpresentingtome, ironically, where I don't experiencethose.
Sothat's whyagain, I said, lifewillpresentyouwithpeopleandcircumstancestorevealwhereyou'renotfree.
Andthesesortofconfrontingcircumstancesreallyis a formofresistancewhich, justlikepolishing a diamond, isallowingustorecognizewherewestillfeelconstrainedorwearrivedwithourbucketoffears.
Andas I say, youknow, thequoteunquotewinnerofthegameiswhocouldgetridoftheirfearsthefastest?
Notthatthereisanyurgency, butwecouldsayand I wouldassertthetrueliberationandtruefreedom, whichismymainproductiswhenwehaveconfrontedallofthefearsthatwearrivedwithtorecognizethatinfact, thereisnothingtofearitselfwhatsoever.
Andthatwasalwaysjust a narrativethatwaspartofourpersonaorourego.
Becausethen I'm equallythebeneficiaryoffit, andthisiswhyexerciseslikegratitudejournalsorgoingandbeing a volunteerandbeingofserviceto a communityfeelsgood.
Whydoesitfeelgood?
Becausewhat I'm actuallydoingis I'm bringingtheexperienceofmytrueselfiswhat I wouldhavesaid.
And I'm sharingtoanother.
I'm givingtoanotherandtherefore I amequallythebeneficiaryofmyownactivecontribution.
Everythingis a miracleornothingis a miracle, right?
Andsoreally, whenyougetlike, wearebeneficiariesoflife, eventhoughagain I'vebeenthrough a tonofwhatfeltlikeunnecessarilyhardshipthatatthetimemylittlepersonawaslike, I don't wantthis, thatsucks.
Butreally, inhindsightisoftenthecasewerecognize.
Wow, ifitweren't forthoseevents, ifitweren't forthoseyouknow, hardships, then I wouldn't havediscoveredthatexpansivenessofwhat I'vejuststeppedintoonwhy I usetheexpressionthatsmoothseasnevermade a goodsailor.
Right.
Soweneedadversityitselfisthecatalystforgrowth.
Itis.
Lifeisthegreatestteacher.
Byvirtueofthefactthatitgivesuschallengessothatitcan, as I saidearlier, sloughoffanythingthatisconfiningus, anythingthatisholdingusbackandconstraintthatisinsomewaylimitingourselfexpression.
Weneedsomeresistancetogetridofthat, andthatis a times a verydifficultpilltoswallow.