Life, Circles and the Shift
I have been a little under the weather for the last few weeks and therefore could not write. In all this time, I have been reading or resting mostly. As soon as I felt that I can start again, here I am, back to writing.
Writing serves many purposes for me as a blogger. The main purpose to write, is of course to share what I know with my readers, but other than that writing also helps me clear my mind. It is like a catharsis. An other kind of medicine. With each word something of me spills itself on the monitor and spreads far and wide—bit by bit, for many eyes to see and countless minds to comprehend, and so I feel myself as part of our collective human consciousness.
I am writing this post without any specific topic in mind so I’ll just let it flow out of me. I am writing as I am thinking. There are no directions, no road signs. It is wonderful to write like this, at times.
I have been thinking lately on human suffering. Why do we have to suffer so much, individually and collectively? The wars, the greed, the lies, the famines and diseases etc. Is suffering a natural part of our existence? Can we not do without it? Is it possible to overcome our lower instincts without suffering all the pain that we go through? Are humans naturally good or bad? Do we attract suffering or does it come naturally to us?
All these questions are not new. We have been thinking about them for millennia and countless people have tried to answer them. Yet the suffering remains. Answers do not help, neither do questions. Life has it’s own momentum. The help comes in individualized pieces of information which individual minds decode and consume. Yet on the surface “suffering” remains, but it loses its grip on one’s soul. The shift happens. Internal shift. Perspectives change. New vistas appear. Life changes.
Deep down we all wait for that shift to happen. We seek it. We look for it, inquire about it, wonder about it and talk about it. But it has it’s moment—the chosen moment to unveil itself. The only thing that seems to have an influence over that moment is our desire to see it and interact with it. The burning desire. The desire to make the shift and feel the sacred moment weave its magic spell.
Sometimes it appears to me that all life moves in circles. A circle is the most natural flow there is. Endings merging into beginnings and beginnings sliding into endings. Life and death. Children and old people. Day and night. Hot and cold. All circles. Circles upon circles. Duality merging into unity and unity dividing itself into dualities. The circles never end. They can not end, for every end is the start of something new.
Human consciousness travels through these circles, interacts with them at the soul level, and learns its lessons. Suffering becomes the grease with which the engine of life produces that powerful thrust that perpetuates life in forward motion. And so we all keep on living and keep on shifting. May all your shifts be for the common good.
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This is indeed an interesting problem: why do we suffer so much?
I’d say that some aspects of suffering are to blame on oneself for taking the wrong choices (work/school/relations/drugs/alcohol…anything). On the other hand, when you get sick and suffer from that…how can it be helped? Acceptation and learning are the key to the answer maybe…
Also, what do you do when you suffer because of actions from other people? Ahh…this question is unsolvable!
I love that you wrote a post that just flowed. Sometimes it’s nice to just have something that comes out, as it is, without structuring it.
This was a great read. Thank you!
The Buddha’s Four Noble Truths state:
The truth of suffering
The truth of the cause of suffering
The truth of the end of suffering
The truth of the path leading to the end of suffering
#3 is hope, that it is indeed possible to end suffering. Often it’s a question of mitigating suffering, but the full potential is definitely there and available.
The circle is a good symbol for healing. It’s also in layers. And healing happens in an unlimitedly creative way. Sometimes it’s subtle and we have to really notice it. It isn’t so black and white.
Hey Sunny!! I can completely relate to your reasons for writing. Sharing and as a “catharsis”
…more than that though it forces me to think things through and in doing so, helps me come up with fresh ideas. Kinda like how writing things out helps remember them because you write a lot slower than you think, so the extra time you spend moving your hand, you spend thinking about the topic more in depth… if that made ANY sense 
Your understanding of suffering’s perceived grip is superpower. really liked the way you phrased “it loses its grip on one’s soul”. prophetic.
To me, all the suffering is self-created. and one can inspire the loss of grip on the soul by realizing that it’s self created, giving yourself perspective and letting go
Thanks for the comment and the tweet btw. Really appreciate it.
Inspiring stuff.
Gave it a stumble.
Keep in touch
Alex
Unleash Reality
Hi, Sunny! It’s great to see you writing again. And I love how you did this… stream of consciousness… free flowing thought. Sometimes it’s nice just to let the words flow as they will from beginning to end and only then look back to learn what it is you have written.
Beautiful.
Hi Sunny
Welcome back my friend, great to you return
Yes, we might not always welcome the suffering…however, without it we will be missing lessons and appreciation for live.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom
Giovanna Garcia
Imperfect Action is better than NO Action
Hi Sunny.
I like this idea of thinking in terms of circles. We’ve got used to thinking in straight lines, linear movement and direction. But as you say, much of existence is circular. Life and death, even time itself is determined by the cycles of the Earth’s movement. Or maybe not a closed circle .. more like a spiral.
Are you familiar with ‘spiral dynamics’? I think it might interest you.
Thanks for this. Yes, I’ve also found that most “shifts” in consciousness for me take place subtly and I stumble upon them, as opposed to undergoing massive changes in perspective.
Sunny, so glad I clicked through again from Twitter, I have not been here in far too long (and am pretty late to this post, I realize), but your insight on suffering resonates with me right now.
Cycles, happiness and suffering, it all works together like yin and yang, it all has its place.
Thanks -Lisa
This is such a profound post. Very profound .
About suffering- I think we suffer when we cannot accept where we are, in life.- The moment , the place, the people, the bad after the good. The mind is such a complex place it creates illusions based on external demands and the heart believes it. So we suffer. And its hard to let go of this. . Collective suffering can only be solved through individuals healing. One by one, person by person. By accepting the moment, by finding inner peace and sharing it. So as we share, so the world 'shifts'..like u say…Hard though to make that shift, yet very worth the journey..
You are right on the money. Totally agree with you.
Especially, "Collective suffering can only be solved through individuals healing. One by one, person by person."