Lately, I’ve found myself saying “I should do…”
I think there’s a trap in this, it sets off an alarm in my mind.
If I should be doing something, then I can just do it.
Ultimately, I can do anything.
Or do I sometimes
feel because of peer or societal pressure that this is
what I should be doing
because that is what other people are doing
because I don’t feel successful.
I am pretty sure this is a trap,
and that I am setting myself up for disappointment and failure.
There is no “should be”,
there is instead “I will be” or “I am doing what I want”.
Or I should just be doing nothing.
A friend of mine the other day said something brilliant:
“expectations are the death of happiness.”
That lingered on my mind, as it may on yours
and that lead me to something equally profound.
The four noble truths of Buddhist teaching.
The first noble truth
The first noble truth is called Dukkha, which means suffering. It says that life is full of suffering. To say it a different way, in life, there is sickness, poverty (being poor), old age, and death. People can not keep what they want. People can not avoid what they do not want. If that is all a person learns, they suffer.
The second noble truth
The second noble truth is Samudaya, which says that there is a reason for the suffering in the world. It says that the reason there is suffering is that people want things. It also says that the reason there is suffering is that people change what they think is real. They do this because they are ignorant. People do wrong actions because they want things and because they do not see what is real. Those evil actions lead to suffering.
The third noble truth
The third noble truth is Nirodha. It says that people can be free from suffering when they no longer want things.
The Fourth Noble Truth
The fourth noble truth is called Magga. It says that for a person to stop wanting things, they must follow a set of rules. The rules are called the Noble Eightfold Path.
Perhaps in this world, we have lots touch of these concepts, but I think that if I let go of things and I, then I can take one step towards harmony.
Ultimately, from one perspective to another, is it to myself that I must be true.
