We suffer in order to bring sufficient attention to a situation to recognize and overcome what is lacking. The suffering leads awareness to what is missing. Past suffering can be seen as wisdom; it teaches and reminds us what to seek, what to maintain, what to avoid.
Suffering is also motivation to change. If it were simplest to withdraw attention or misdirect attention, we might only do that–in many cases, this is attempted. The consequences of disengaging direct the course and provide the impetus for improvement.
The antidote to suffering is total engagement. When attention is not invested in strategies such as withdrawal and creating illusion or blindly following impulse alone, attention is fully directed at and into the current situation. In this sense, with a focus on attention instead of energy or morality, the path of renunciation and that of passion are recognizably the same path viewed from different angles, experienced in different textures.
With attention as the guiding idiom, selfishness and generosity are reconciled. It is not necessary to work against the self or against others if one is willing to remain with the situation as it is. It is necessary to recognize the natural appreciation of social connectedness and the suffering engendered through alienation, isolation, marginalization, and disenfranchisement.
This necessitates an awareness and appreciation of the drive for status which is based on the imperatives of sexual selection. When one recognizes impulses as they occur, there is no need to bring in false ideology for justifications that misdirect and amplify (by repression) or idealize (as achievement, for example) the impulse. Instead, it is valuable to find one’s balance.
Balance is not homeostasis, but a sense of being centered and the ability to move. (As time moves forward, even homeostasis/maintenance requires action.) When one is moved only by one’s impulses, one is not a balanced human being. Balance entails integrating body, mind, and emotions. When impulses lead, it is like the horse riding a person. Suffering is created, and it becomes difficult not to notice.
Suffering and enjoyment are means of deploying attention. When one is incapable of finding balance in the situation through balanced enjoyment, suffering insures that attention will remain until some sense of balance is restored or achieved. Sometimes, it seems necessary to suffer more drastically so that the biggest problems will stand out clearly, but this is a strange way to pursue happiness or wisdom. When the body is treated poorly, the physical signals, emotional responses, and mental acuity lose their alignment. In such cases, more suffering creates more suffering and bigger problems to be dealt with (which may be more noticeable, but certainly not more desirable). If one cannot learn to utilize attention by engaging the situation through balanced enjoyment, one will continue to suffer.
Suffering is a corrective attentional strategy for when enjoyment is insufficient. It is the signifier, the motivation, and the consistency needed for adequate change when wisdom, clarity, and enjoyment are insufficient. When one cannot find enjoyment, balanced engagement is recommended. Obstacles to full engagement are easily recognized as standing directly in one’s path; they may be internal or external.
The two most common mistakes are to utilize aggression or to wish for rest. Aggression is justified in many ways, but it always feels the same. The wish for rest is usually construed as a wish for peace. Peace is not wished for. Peace is the nature of life in accord. Peace is a light clarity that is noticeable when one finds a sense of balance. In some situations, reacting with aggression or wishing will be satisfactory in the moment, but both are destructive as habits.
In the present moment, suffering is a sign. The purpose of suffering is to encourage full and balanced engagement. Suffering is an attentional strategy that encourages the development of appreciation and wisdom.
Copyright 2007 Todd Mertz