second arrow

Time heals all wounds… if we do not go back and re-wound ourselves by making the pains of the past the story of our lives, thus polluting our future as well. Buddhism has a concept called the “Second Arrow”. The first arrow/wound is what happened to you, the “Second Arrow” is how you wound yourself by your (over) response/reaction. Or more generally, what others do is their karma, how you respond is yours.

When you let your pain control you, you are in reaction mode and you’ve handed over your power to something outside yourself. I find it helpful to dwell upon the ethereal nature of life and think of myself less as a human being having a spiritual experience and more as a perpetual spiritual being have a temporary human experience.

Problems and pain are a normal and natural part of life and “It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn.” (Scott Peck, 1936-2005, The Road Less Traveled)

Closing Quote:

“Don’t let your pain control you; stabbing your wound repeatedly as if that would somehow heal it.” – Jenna Wolf, slightly edited

As always, I share what I most want/need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier