The Decision That Something Should Be Different
La decisión de que algo debería ser diferente
A reflection on how suffering begins with the unexamined certainty that things should be other than they are, and how true acceptance opens the door to creative action.
The Decision That Something Should Be Different
A reflection on how suffering begins with the unexamined certainty that things should be other than they are, and how true acceptance opens the door to creative action.
You usually feel it almost as if it were something physical in the body. It is not just thought first. It is simple: the thought and the emotion arise simultaneously. But because the emotional aspect seems more real to you, the thought remains more hidden. That is where the assumption probably lies.
The root decision
When I say "in the dream, it's you," it is because at some point there is a decision that something has to be different. Something that is happening shouldn't happen, or something that's not happening should be happening now. It is a decision about what is right now. Something should not be as it is, or something that isn't, should be. It is a certainty. It is an attachment, a desire. And it stems from "I know." I know it shouldn't be. I know how it should be. I know this should not be, or this should be. I decide. I know. I want.
When the deciding falls away
This is very different from what happens when that deciding starts to fall away. What remains is absolutely no reaction, because there is the understanding that it cannot be any different. The car drives by, I hear the sound, and it cannot be any different. Everything that is, is as it is. It cannot be any different. When that is really, truly seen, there is just a complete acceptance.
Acceptance and creative action
And then there can be creativity, what I call co-creation. There is an acceptance of what is, and there is a movement of creating a change, moving with what is. You have a conversation. You eat because you are hungry. You create a business. Anything. This is fundamentally different from the stance that says, "What is should not be," and then tries to change what is from that place of resistance. In that case, the problem is no longer in me. Now it is the government, or the partner, or the job, or someone else. The problem is always placed outside.