"Life in modern society is inescapably stressful." A modern rewrite of the Buddha's First Noble Truth Ironically, a major source of stress in our modern lives is the quirky idea that life in this fast-paced, corporate-industrial world can be stress-free, and that being stressed-out is OUR OWN fault. But this is simply one more moralistic fundamentalism to add to all of the other fundamentalisms to which we as human beings are so readily prone. However, the First Noble Truth of the Buddha reminds us that "Life is suffering." This is actually a liberating truth because it teaches us to stop beating ourselves up whenever we suffer in a physical, emotional, mental or spiritual manner. Accordingly, a modern rewrite would be: "Life in modern society is inescapably stressful." Can we reduce our stress? Yes. A healthy diet and lifestyle, exercise, time spent in Nature and meditation all contribute to a reduction in stress. But we cannot escape the fact that this crazy corporate-industrial society in which we all live is STILL inescapably stressful. It is therefore important that we make friends with our stress and learn to live at peace with it. When we ACCEPT the fact that modern life is stressful and that this is not our fault, we will then begin to BE less stressed :) Photo: A windstorm in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, February 6, 2016 Please visit: http://www.resourcesforspiritualgrowth.com/
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AuthorStephen Hatch, M.A. is a spiritual teacher and photographer from Fort Collins, Colorado. His approach is contemplative, inter-spiritual, and Earth-based. Archives
June 2016
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