~I invite you to listen to the audio version shared above, where a guided meditation is provided that follows what is shared below in the text.

One of the deals we made simply by being born is that we will experience unwanted moments at different times throughout our life. There will be unwanted feelings. We cannot control others’ actions or much of the world’s events, and some of the people in this world and some of the world events will cause us pain. We cannot avoid this reality, and these are examples of how difficulty, also known as pain, enters our life. We cannot avoid pain, but we can avoid or reduce suffering.

How we choose to engage with the pain that arrives in our lives will determine whether we prolong the difficult feelings or not. In Buddhism, the teaching of the Four Noble Truths teaches how to effectively engage with suffering that arises, and when it does, unbeknownst to us at the time, explore constructively how we played a role in bringing it about by engaging with it in a way that prolonged the pain. But we can engage differently, and that is the gift of suffering. It teaches us, should we choose to be the student, how to engage differently to avoid suffering moving forward. To learn, to choose differently, and as a result, liberate ourselves and find an abiding peace in our everydays.

The first noble truth is to acknowledge that suffering is happening – stress, an unwanted feeling of any kind, deep emotional distress; the second truth encourages us to objectively explore what is causing the suffering because suffering doesn’t arise without a reason. The third truth is to determine how to cease the suffering, and there is an answer to be found here if we are honest with ourselves. Finally, the fourth noble truth is what we discover as the way to engage with others, ourselves, the world, that avoids suffering. Yes, we acknowledge that pain will happen, but then we take responsibility for how to best engage with that pain to ensure we no longer cause suffering. How we do that is to tend to our thoughts, our mindset, our choice of words, our actions, how we spend our days and lives, living with intention, engaging with loving-kindness, engaging mindfully with the world, others and ourselves, honoring our integrity, and bravely exploring and embracing our dharma – finding what brings us to life while also constructively giving to the world.

So the next time a difficult situation arises, acknowledge it, let yourself feel it fully to better understand why it affected you as it did, but choose to use the unwanted moment as an opportunity to deepen your clarity while also being kind to yourself and to those who may have caused the pain. Then move forward, no longer carrying the pain with you, no longer ruminating, no longer worrying, no longer overanalyzing, and instead live fully in the now to see all that has the potential to unfold when we bring an open-mind that is guided by clarity without certainty.

Meditation provides a tool to strengthen our mindfulness, to strengthen our mind, to then give us the ability to strengthen how we think, speak, and act when we aren’t meditating. So let’s begin to continue our strength practice for the mind that is meditating.

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~Learn more about TSLL’s Contentment Masterclass: Discover the benefits of Meditation, which is included in the detailed syllabus shared here, watch the trailer, and read student reviews.

~Comments will be turned off for Meditation posts as you cultivate a practice guided by what you need and your journey to cultivating inner peace and aligning with your true self.