The Suffering of Wanting

The attraction to what’s wanted arises from some deep mind pattern and it’s because this isn’t realized that the wanting winds up in control. To the extent of one’s wants is to the extent of one’s suffering.

The process of suffering is something that’s created by our own mind and it’s directly tied into the deep seeded roots of our wanting. To the extent that one wants is to the extent of one’s suffering. Again: To the extent of one’s wants is to the extent of one’s suffering. Sit with that and if you can grasp what that statement means, it can lead directly to liberation. This statement in itself is a doorway, but as a doorway is an opening, it will have to be stepped through to see what is on the other side. You will have to investigate this deeply to see the true implication of wanting. To the extent of one’s wants is to the extent of one’s suffering. This leads to one of my favorite sayings. Until you can accept the red lights in life as you do the green ones, there will be discontent, but understand the discontent is not actually in the red light, it’s in wanting it to be green. This goes with everything that occurs in life. Life is just life, it’s never the happening that causes one to be discontented, it’s always wanting what happens to be in some other way that causes the discontent. This is for everything, be it a person or an occurrence, nothing can harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.

If you can’t see how this wanting is at the core of your discontent, either sit more to allow the mind to settle or just go with the wanting and remain in your discontent. This wanting is very subtle and it begins as soon as you wake up to start your day. Life is continuous and if it’s looked at in this way instead of breaking it up into segments, there’s less wanting and less trying to arrange things to be a certain way. Holding on to wanting is bondage, and it’s only “I” that wants. It’s never the initial wanting that’s the issue, it’s giving it energy that allows the wanting to take control. Usually the attraction to what’s wanted arises from some deep mind pattern, and it’s because this isn’t realized that the wanting winds up in control. So remember to the extent of one’s wants is to the extent of one’s suffering and if not investigated it will be as if one wants to suffer.