when i think about suffering, i am reminded of the part of my morning meditation when i say, "may i understand my suffering, may i recognize the clinging and craving which cause it, may i have confidence in and take refuge in the teachings of jesus and the buddha, may i learn to walk on the path that leads to the end of suffering." in the past couple of years, i have experienced the suffering that comes from aging. i feel pains i never felt before, and i am reminded that my body which has served me so well is wearing out.
i've gone through two rounds of physical therapy to help ease discomfort in my back and hips. fortunately, the exercises i learned in therapy help if i do them regularly. now i must make time to do them daily in order to live my life without debilitating pain. i suppose part of my suffering in this sense comes from longing to function as i did at a younger age, but the physical suffering i experience is the result of something quite different from "clinging and craving."
most people my age are suffering in the same way as i am. we try to stave off the effects of aging, but our efforts are not entirely successful, though they may offer some relief from pain. recently i read that it is a good thing to remind ourselves daily that we are dying. as long as we have breath, we are in the process of coming to the ends of our lives. as i told my daughter yesterday, i am getting old and i want to continue to get older. the only remedy for stopping our dying and aging process is death.
may we be grateful for bodies that have seen us through the days of our lives. may we recognize that each breath brings us closer to the cessation of breathing and give thanks for those breaths. may we live our lives so that we can say that we have lived fully, compassionately, and well. shalom.
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