
direct route to enlightenment,
explained a colleague.
The stream of primary feelings is always with us,
but we often have the mistaken notion
that life is not supposed to be this way.
We secretly believe that if we can act just right,
then our stream of feelings will
always be pleasant
and there will be no pain,
no loss.
So when a painful experience arises
we often try to get rid of it,
and when a pleasant experience arises we try to grasp it.
When a neutral experiences arises we tend to ignore it.
We seem to be wanting the right (pleasant) feelings
and trying to avoid the wrong (painful) feelings.
When they are unpleasant we react endlessly
struggling to "get it right."
As we become wiser,
we realize that fixing the
flow of feelings doesn't work.
Primary feelings are simply feelings,
and every day consists of thousands
of pleasant, painful, and neutral moments,
for you and the rest of the world.
What a relief it was to hear people
who seemed quite happy
speak the truth so clearly
-- the reality of life --
is that life is difficult and painful, just by it's nature,
not because we are doing it wrong!
Taken from "Wise Heart" Jack Kornfield