“We cannot go back. We can only go forward.” -M. Scott Peck, M.D.
Here in-lies a bittersweet truth of evolving into consciousness. Once we see, we can never unsee. We can never go back. Find comfort in knowing that ignorance is, in fact, not bliss. Since we cannot go back, we must grow up. Growing up is not a destination to reach. Growing up is an ever ongoing process, not to actually be achieved. Growing up is the journey of life itself. We can only go forward on this journey, sometimes painfully, into increasingly deeper levels of consciousness.
This truth is exceedingly important to embrace. An alarming amount of human energy is spent lost and stagnating in attempts, often including drug and alcohol abuse, to return to ignorance and bliss; refusal to grow; unreadiness or unwillingness to live; perpetual, immature children trapped in suffering adult bodies. We must go forward, even though growing and journeying is hard and consciousness is often painful. Life is difficult. Life is complex. There is no escaping inevitable suffering along our journey.
There is such thing as constructive suffering. The difference between unconstructive and constructive suffering is one of the most important things to learn in dealing with the pain of growing up. We must learn to distinguish between existential and neurotic suffering. Ask yourself, “Is this pain enhancing or limiting my existence?” If you determine that the suffering you are experiencing is neurotic and is impeding your existence, then the second step is to ask yourself, “How would I behave if I did not have this pain, anxiety or guilt?” The third step is to actually behave that way. Literally be the way you want to be. Admittedly, that is a scary thing to do, but this is where courage comes in.
Embrace your fear. Recognize your fears and weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Courage is the capacity to go forward in spite of fear or pain. You will find that overcoming fear will make you stronger and will help you grow. In order to work through pain and suffering, we must change our attitude; be willing to change ourselves; accept the fact that everything that happens is an opportunity for our spiritual growth. This realization requires a complete shift in our attitude toward pain. Consciousness is not only the cause of our pain, it is the inevitable cause of our healing. Consciousness and healing go hand-in-hand. We must heal in order grow.
Although consciousness brings more pain, it also brings more joy. We often need comfort on our journey, but what we don’t need are quick fixes. Have patience. As we grow spiritually, we become more healthy and able to deal with pain; our own and others’. And then, the most amazing thing happens– The more pain we are willing to take on, the more joy we will also begin to feel. Consciousness ultimately amplifies and enhances our lives and our ability to experience joy.
Leave a Reply