Dharma is the work of understanding what is buried and hidden in each of us. It leads us to identify who we are, and then to use what we learn to cultivate virtue and benefit . . . while maintaining a fertile atmosphere for all who cross our path to safely experience whatever aspects of their best selves are available at the time.
It is a nourishing curriculum for everyday life.
***
Consider: what could be gained by denying or hiding from anything that has been a part of me?
***
There are some who (unknowingly) see Dharma practice as a method of moving beyond things done in the past, dropping them, cutting them loose . . . trying to ignore and forget them.
Hoping to live anew, regret-free . . . skipping along with a fresh start on a new spiritual path.
But this path is not so easy . . . in reality, we find that ‘forgetting’ is not only
unlikely, but is a virtually impossible-to-achieve detour . . . oppressive, in fact.
The more we push something away, the more it’s ‘got’ us.
Genuinely understanding our past motivations and actions through the lens of Dharma awareness brings about a sense of Insightful humility.
No longer do we try to forget, but in being able to honestly embrace the ‘why’ of what we’ve come to learn about ourselves, we abandon the need to forget or discount. Rather, we use it to help identify our work.
***
If this resonates with you, I suggest the following: Quiet down, establish stability . . . then approach and become familiar with who you are, while being open to understanding and accepting who you have been.
Allow your present days to be free of running from the past.
Dharma, in its purest form, is a path of empowering liberation.
It is not an escape route, or a sneaky back-door shortcut away from anything.
Rather, it is a proven method of evolving wisdom, illuminating truth and progressive fullness.
Use it.
~Neither grief or a broken heart, or fear, precludes you from doing this.