After being away for over six weeks, I have continually meditated on the idea of what brings suffering to people. I'm currently in my third week of yoga teacher training and I found the reason why people come to yoga is they are suffering. They may be in physical pain or emotional pain, but at the end of the day it's still suffering. I've learned suffering is the main reason why people decide to come to yoga. People who do yoga look like they have their lives together, but the actuality is their lives are just like yours.
After meditating on the idea of what suffering is and the root of most people suffering. Come to the conclusion of the most common form of suffering comes from the lack of love. This connection between what love is. To love yourself, to be able to love your family members, and to be able to love your society. You can ask a simple question of "why do I continue to date these guys that treat me like crap"? Is it that we allow others to treat us the way we treat ourselves. Is it that we allow other people to love us the way we love ourselves.
Some of us have the idea we are cold and don't have the heart to love. I can tell you inside of yourself there is a fast well of love just waiting to be filled. Love is an exclusive it's inclusive made for everyone. It has the ability to multiply and there is never an absence. And you can ask the question "how come I don't feel love or how come I can't love"? I don't have an answer for you that can give you comfort. All I can say is it takes time. It's a long road of understanding yourself and excepting yourself as a beautiful human being. Knowing that you are never alone and there are people around you that love you.
So how can you help when the world is suffering. I'm going to tell you something that is very hard to do. Start with yourself, the only way you can help anyone is a start by helping yourself. Putting others before yourself poisons the world, but putting yourself before others allows you to give the gifts you have received. And love to the people who have hurt you. Remember just like you they want to be happy, just like you have a family that loves them, just like you they want their families to be happy and healthy, and just like you they are human being. We cannot judge other humans beings because we are human. Remember this a famous quote by Maya Angelou: "I am human, nothing human shall be alien to me." We are at are very core the same, we are made of the same material. We are so different but yet we are so similar.
Remember if you are suffering, know that it's a part of life. It can be a dark place, but you appreciate the beautiful things in life we have to be able to appreciate the place we came from. Without darkness you wouldn't be able to see the light.
