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You’ll be Set for Life, If You Learn (And Apply) This One Truth by Ram Das
The one rule I try to live by.
Every time something doesn’t go my way, the pain I feel isn’t just in the event — it’s in the resistance. I want something different. I fight reality. That’s where my suffering lives. Fighting reality doesn’t work. But we all do it. We want life to go a certain way. We expect people to act how we think they should. We pursue an image of how things ought to be.
But life is indifferent to our needs and wants.
We end up more miserable every time. It’s a cycle. The earlier you can accept things for what they are, the faster you can get back to controlling what’s actually in your power. And see things as they are.
Spiritual teacher Ram Dass said something that explains reality beautifully. He said, “As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can’t see how it is.” Resisting what is won’t do us any good. Holding onto ideas, expectations and stories that don’t match your reality, creates mental conflict. And when life doesn’t meet them, you feel frustrated, disappointed and stressed. You want someone to love you a certain way, but they love you in their way. You expect results to happen fast, but it takes time. You wish people would change, but they don’t.
