The realization that there are parts of us that are against us can hit us with a jolt. But when we see that these wrong parts have actually created the pains that they then falsely promise to free us of, we eagerly seek -- and find -- the real Friend who will bring all pains to an end.
Every day we are attacked by a multitude of pains, so frequent and so familiar we don't even question them. In fact, we accept them as friends, as something to occupy us. These pains can range from petty irritations, to the anxiety we feel every time we write a check and see our bank balance decrease, to concerns about our health. One of the major sources of pain involves other people and our relationships with them.
Every day the storm comes. Some days we handle it better than others. Some days we can't handle it at all, and we have a breakdown. But no matter how many storms people face, and how many breakdowns they have, in most cases people put on a mask and claim that their lives are okay. They declare that they are in control, and even resent the fact that the question could have come up. One thing they do to convince themselves that all their emotional reactions make sense is to blame outside situations for the pain they feel. When things get too bad, they may give up the "I'm in control mask" and put on the "I'm depressed mask." This too is only a mask and not an honest self-appraisal, because the person is still blaming the wrong thing for causing the state, and failing to take real self-responsibility.
These conditions can all be changed, but only if we are willing to admit that these revelations about our inner natures are true. We must pierce through to the heart of the truth ourselves so its strength becomes ours. We can start by admitting that the storm comes and knocks us down every day. Then we must find the courage to admit that we must change the way we meet life. At that point, we are willing to ask Truth to show us how, because we realize that we've always been wrong in the past. Rightness does exist, and we can be a part of it when we stop defending everything that has made us suffer.
Think of something that has been troublesome to you today. Perhaps you've tormented yourself over the question "Should I or shouldn't I?" Has it ever occurred to you that even that question might be an unnecessary pain? Isn't it the case that what we really want to be free of is the pain we experience when we try to decide what to do to be free of the pain? Or what about the pain we feel when we're concerned about what other people think about us? Have we ever questioned why it matters what they think, or whether what they think will really change our relationship with ourselves? We get upset when other people don't treat us as we think we deserve, and fail to see that the pain we feel has nothing to do with them, but is self-inflicted. These are the lessons that our pain can teach us. When we welcome the lesson, we can see that it was we ourselves who caused the storm that we say we have to battle.
The experience of every moment of our life is a direct reflection of our nature. We never experience anything that does not arise directly from our own inner life. Life always happens from the inside out. What we know and perceive and look for is what we get. The pain we feel as we enter a room and move self-consciously from the door to the chair is a reflection of what is in us, and not what is in those people we see before us. The fact that we have those pains is proof that we don't understand what our pains are about, for if we did understand, we would no longer tolerate their presence in our psychic system.
Life really is a special kind of journey whose each and every day can present new vistas to our eager perception. Instead, we live in an unhappy world created by our misperception. Yet one of the marvels of our lives is that they can undergo a natural healing process when our wish for an awakened consciousness allows the Truth to shed its curative light. When that happens, even our pains become marvelous, because each one provides a fresh opportunity to learn more about what we have been doing against ourselves. This new knowledge gives us the power we need to cease this self-betrayal forever. We discover that our Real Friend is the Truth, and when we live from the Truth, the whole universe is on our side.