\u2026faith consists in deep conviction of what is real, lucidity as to what has value, and longing for what is possible. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It marks an early, though significant change in a person\u2019s life. It means 1) refusing to give up \u2013 ever; 2) finding what works and sticking with it; and 3) setting big goals while relishing the path which is life itself.<\/span><\/p>\nDukkha <\/span>need not be any deep sense of suffering, either. It is often translated as dis-ease, or unsatisfactoriness (which is most accurate, but clumsy). Dukkha is, in a sense, \u2018the human condition\u2019 insofar as we are all born with a certain degree of ignorance about the way things work, ignorance that is generally reinforced and multiplied by society. <\/span> Outright suffering, such as depression or a traumatic injury often makes unavoidably obvious. If we use these experiences to move to <\/span>dukkhashraddha, they actually become a blessing, a source of empowerment.<\/span><\/p>\n(think of the suffering of Rev. MLK or Thich Nhat Hanh, Jesus or the Buddha \u2013 countless social workers and youth addiction counselors who were themselves abused and\/or addicted)<\/span><\/p>\nIf we never realize dukkha<\/span>, generally because we are caught up in the roller-coaster of pleasure-desire-craving-aversion-pleasure-desire (\u2026), then we will simply \u2018sleep-walk\u2019 through life. There\u2019s no great harm in that, from a Buddhist perspective, except for the suffering you inevitably cause others when you sleep-walk all over them. But sleep-walking through life, as so many people do, does represent a certain failure or waste of wonderful opportunities. <\/span><\/p>\nEvery moment is an opportunity. And if suffering does nothing else, it brings us to this moment. Once you get here, you have two choices: face it and grow or reject it. <\/span><\/p>\nAnd facing it is not a one-time deal. Nor is it easy, especially at first. Depression in my experience consists of a brooding, a mind unable to just settle, a disconnection between the world around me and my experience. <\/span>Meditation then is simply the exercise in settling the mind, over and over and over again, on the breath. It\u2019s like a work-out regimen for the mind. <\/p>\nNature-walks do similar work, with a much less \u2018subtle\u2019 object \u2013 the world of here and now. <\/span> Our senses are heightened in nature, our biological-evolutionary bodies awaken. Society, walls, cars, etc allow so much of us to fall asleep \u2013 to forget our connection with the world and people. It\u2019s no wonder we are depressed!<\/span> But in nature, our mind is jerked into the present moment \u2013 now a bird chirping, now a deer bolting, now a raindrop, wet, cool. In the moment, everything is ok. There can even be the sense that, even with the suffering, \u2018this is how it is supposed to be.\u2019 <\/p>\nAnd it is. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
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