lessons from a jumping choia cactus

Got two nodes stuck on my hand today.

My first reaction is oh fuck. This sucks now I have to do this, I don't want to, it's going to hurt, why did I fucking fall, shit I should not have gone that way...etc.

At this juncture I have three options.

Pull it out.

Don't pull it out and continue on with life normally

Don't pull it out and continue on with life avoiding any situation that could push the cactus farther in.

If I choose the second option I'm giving myself a ton of pain just because I'm afraid of a big pain, but inevitably this going to severely hinder my abilities and potentially cause severe damage to my hand.

The third option is going to entirely re route the course of my life. Now I can't use my left hand for anything. You can imagine the complications of that. It would actually be easier just to cut my hand off if I choose number three.

The first option is the most sane. But it's also the most painful.

I chose number one, because of course its the only sane thing to do. And it fucking hurt. Pulling it out felt incredibly painful and then the stinging afterwords hurt a bit too. But all in all the whole thing was done in 20 minutes.

So the lesson is simple, pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

The fear of the pain will ruin your life. The pain itself is inevitable, but it only lasts a moment or too.

Now the qquestion is, why can we do this with external things so easily but not when it's internal.

Without awareness, the mind will choose option three everytime.

If we could just apply thus principle to our identities and the painful emotions we run from, the world would function so much a better.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional....thank you cactus.