PAIN XII

The parents of all life are the sky and the earth. They come together to form a womb. Here all the people, animals, and plants recieve what they need to travel their paths.

Storms accompany all bornings. It is in the wild turbulence that we learn the skills for our growth.

As you travel along your path there must be many springs. Without the cold and barren winter there can be no spring beauty. Winter is the season of the womb, Its pain our friend our beacon. It points out the direction for our journey. There are only two roads in life, growing and dying. The bud must go through the discomfort of unfolding or it will shrivel.

If we use our cleverness to avoid pain we will not learn valuable lessons. Bodily discomfort tells us when we have broken natures rhythm. The pain it he heart reminds us of the winter of the womb, and again we can prepare for a new step in life.

You must not remain in the pain. It is only the vestibule of change. Suppose that on a hot august afternoon you come upon a cool lake. You can suffer the discomfort and insecurity of jumping in the lake. Or you can move away and come back to the lake another day. If you choose to remain fixed on the edge you will destroy yourself. There is no way of avoiding the shock of the plunge. No matter how clever you are the decision will always be the same - leap or turn away. If you will not make the choice your strength will fade away. Most of your sorrow in life comes from trying not to choose or from taking a half step.

Life is like a ladder. You climb up to a rung. Then you regain your composure. In time you become comfortable on the rung. Perhaps you even become an expert concerning this rung. You do not want to become a struggling beginner again. Yet if you learn that each step is only a rung, you will welcome the freshness of each beggining. Then every step you take in life, even death itself, becomes an act of renewal.