In a world incessantly buzzing with the noise of endless cycles - birth, life, pain, and the elusive chase of happiness - a friend recently approached me with a profound question that echoes the depths of human yearning. He asked, 'How can I break free from the cycle of reincarnation completely? I desire no more lives. I long to be finished.' This wasn't a simple query about escaping physical existence; it was a deeper plea for liberation from the intangible chains of pain, loneliness, struggle, and the relentless tides of emotional poverty. He yearned for his soul's lessons to be learned once and for all, yearning for a state of being rather than becoming, a realm where existence isn't a burden but a symphony of peace.
I am going to attempt to gift you freedom. But understand, this freedom is not mine to give; it's already within you. These words are mere reflections, echoes of the truth residing in your heart. If they stir emotions within you - be it anger, sadness, joy, or enlightenment - know that it was always you who held the key to your chains and your liberation.
Our journey through life is often clouded by our perceptions of pain and suffering. Pain, in its intricate complexity, is subjective. There's no universal scale to measure its intensity or impact. It varies as much as our fingerprints. Some find a strange solace in pain, a kind of masochistic pleasure. Even in medical science, when patients were asked to rate their pain while on medication like Oxycontin, their responses were deeply personal, shaped by their mental and emotional framework.
Consider this: the level of pain we endure is proportional to our resistance to the situation at hand. More often than not, emotional pain is rooted in fear. When we lose a loved one, the heart-wrenching sadness isn't just about loss; it's the fear of never experiencing that unique love again. When we explode in anger or dissolve into tears due to mistreatment, it's not just the act that hurts us; it's the fear of being misunderstood, the fear that our perspectives will remain unseen.
Every emotional turmoil – be it frustration, despair, anxiety, shame, disappointment, loneliness, jealousy, contempt, guilt, bitterness – is steeped in fear. One might argue that this viewpoint comes from a place of privilege. Indeed, I acknowledge my privilege, but this understanding is born from immersing myself in the stories of those who faced the darkest corners of human existence. Books like 'The Gulag Archipelago' and 'Man’s Search for Meaning' provide powerful testimonies. People who lost everything found solace and strength in their beliefs, in their inner world, which remained unconquered even when their physical world was in ruins.
Viktor Frankl, a beacon of wisdom, said, 'Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.' Reflect on this: what aspects of our culture have instilled in you the belief that life is a series of lessons to be learned, a ladder of suffering to be climbed? Who whispered these half-truths into the sanctum of your beliefs?
It is not the external situations or actions of others that carve the depths of our suffering; it is our interpretation, our internal dialogue about these events that crafts our pain. Eckhart Tolle, in his enlightening work 'The Power of Now', states, “Don't look for peace. Don't look for any other state than the one you are in now; otherwise, you will set up inner conflict and unconscious resistance. Forgive yourself for not being at peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will get you there, will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender.” (Tolle) Our quest for peace often becomes a mirage when we focus too much on the past and the future, ignoring the power of now, the only moment we truly own.
In our relentless pursuit of tranquility, we overlook the beauty of the present moment. We falsely believe that our current suffering is a result of past mistakes or future anxieties, but this is an illusion. The root of all suffering and the key to all freedom lies within you. You are a boundless being, experiencing the vastness of life.
I often liken life to my favorite movies. The best ones take you through a rollercoaster of emotions. They make you cry, laugh, and feel every shade of human experience. You empathize with the characters, feel their joy, their pain, their triumphs. But when the movie ends, you don't carry those emotions with you. You leave the theater with gratitude, having had the chance to experience such a rich tapestry of feelings. Live your life like that – embrace the full spectrum of emotions, and always find that space in your heart that is grateful for the experience of life in this very moment.
You, my friend, are a manifestation of the universe, a perfect embodiment of this moment. The universe is within you, and you are within the universe. I see you, asleep in the dream of suffering, of reincarnation, of endless seeking. It's time to awaken to the truth of your existence, to the peace that's been within you all along. Embrace the journey, for it is in this very journey that freedom lies. The path isn't about escaping life, but about embracing it, about understanding that the chains we feel are often of our own making. Break free, not by seeking an end to life, but by understanding the depth and beauty of life itself. Remember, you are the universe experiencing itself, and in this realization, lies your freedom.
