Pain is a part of being human.  We experience varying degrees of pain in our lives.  While pain must be processed so that it can be released, it is not a good idea to choose pain as a part of our identity or to let it take up so much space in present time that there is no room for joy.

When we are pulled by any one aspect of the path, it is difficult to honor that aspect but also to know that there are other aspects to be considered.  The laws of cause and effect are at work on Planet Earth.  While we may love the contemplative beauty of meditation, we cannot neglect the other aspects of life.  Meditation was designed to feed the soul, but not to pay the rent.

There is so much going on in the rapidly changing world around us.  That change is unsettling, both inside and outside.  The changes allow us to choose what we hold and what we release.  We know what is true, but we cannot applaud or change it as rapidly as we would like to.