That’s the song we sing down the path of suffering that leads to the town of Sufferville.
The Buddha said something like pain is part of life but suffering is an option.
Truth be told, I sincerely thought suffering was just part of the deal in life.
Growing up there was even a saying many used around me…
Life sucks then you die.
After years of studying many thought leaders, I learned that Buddha’s insight was true… pain is part of life but suffering is an option.
Some of my darkest times of despair looking back came from “me-ing”.
Me not happy. No one loves me. Me need a hug. Me need this, that, etc. Me don’t have enough. Me had a hard childhood, you don’t understand. You need to understand ME!
♫ Me, Me, Me, La, La, La, La! ♫
I was digging a deep hole within me and was too dumb not to know to just stop digging. As a result, I drove myself temporarily insane which is hardcore suffering.
Then my child came along and the guilt of “me-ing” became so great it jolted me into service. My business did the same thing for me too.
The focus was now on someone else that needed me and over time with a little work I learned how to not do suffering (me-ing) for longer than a minute or two.
This was one of my biggest lessons in life.
There are still lots of folks singing ♫ Me, Me, Me, La, La, La, La! ♫ and have no idea it’s killing them. You could give them the world and they’d still be unhappy because there is a hole in the “me cup”.