THE MOON ISN'T MADE OF CHEESE

The Buddha said, “All I teach is suffering and the end of suffering. This does not always mean physical suffering but mental suffering, the pain of change, loss, aging, and knowing there is an end to our earthly existence. Most of us embrace pleasure but reject suffering in our lives. We see life as a big roulette wheel and crapshoot, and hope we emerge winners and land on pink. Everyday we toss the dice and cross our fingers. Viewing life as a succession of lucky breaks or chances only makes our mental suffering worse.

The more we practice denial and avoidance of the harsher aspects of reality, the more and harder we suffer.

James Patterson wrote, "the secret to understanding Parisians is to know that they are exact opposite of people in LA California. In LA people are raised to be optimistic. full of life, friendly. People who grow up in Paris however, are taught the value of melancholy and an unwavering belief in the superiority of suffering. It's why they have a reputation for being rude.... they honestly believe they are doing you a favour."

Being optimistic and positive is not a bad thing as long as it is real and and your smile doesn't mask tears. As you can see Hollywood is all about the make-belief, unreality, devoid of aging and suffering, full of plastized faces and phoney emotions. The French, as do other other Europeans celebrate the real, wisdom in a face and not a blank expression caused by surgery, even their films have actors that look like real ordinary people with depth and breadth of humanity lining their visages.

Buddha taught that embracing suffering is how you can desist from it, In any experience, even a painful one we can end suffering. Accepting that this life is as is, and saying this is "dukkha", liberates our minds, eases our burden, relaxes our anxiety about whether we will win or lose and what the next moment will bring.

So the sooner we stop pursuing pleasure and are present in what is going on in the moment in our lives, the more capable we will be in dealing appropriately with each situation, the more wisdom and energy we will have to carry on until we are in the pink again. But trying to remain in the pink, despite a change in colour, can stop us from actually enjoying it when it arrives.

It is very liberating to realize, all is good and just let go of the incessant mental control of thinking mind that says,, it must be this way and not that. It is okay to have wants and desires as long as you are not attached to getting them met at all cost. As the song goes you don't always get what you want but you get what you need. You may want to live forever and never be ill, but hey the moon isn't made of cheese.

So if you want to stop suffering, relax and try to enjoy the ride, even the bumpy parts.