There’s something to be discovered right where we don’t want to find it.
One of the things that you often don’t imagine when you begin, or want to begin, meditation is that you will likely be in pain at times. Instead of clear-headed bliss or peace, your knees will be bothering you, your back will be stiffening, or you will be chased by anxiety or sadness. We don’t put that on the marketing materials.
For many of us, meditation is where we’d like to escape the pain of our lives: distress, heartbreak, indecision, social media. We imagine a still place, quietly humming with contentment.
When my wife undertook a meditation retreat in Thailand many years ago (one in which she was admittedly unprepared for), she met with the young Abbott at the Buddhist monastery and asked him about these intense aches and pains from sitting all day. He looked at her with a smile of recognition and said, “Ah, pain, always your friend.”
So, what the heck was he talking about?
When you’re in pain — physical or emotional — you feel something has to be done. What’s more clear than exactly what is to be done is the recognition that something must change right now. It’s understandable. But what if it’s not going away easily? Or what if, despite your best efforts, you…
