On Approaching Difficulties

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 Recently I heard this quote by Jack Kornfield:
"Our difficulties require our most compassionate attention. Just as lead can be transformed into gold in alchemy, when we place our leaden difficulties, whether of body, heart or mind, into the center of our practice, they can become lightened for us, illuminated. This task is usually not what we want but what we have to do. No amount of meditation, yoga, diet and reflection will make our problems go away, but we can transform our difficulties into our practice until little by little they guide us on our way." 
 (from A Path With Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of a Spiritual Life)
It is interesting to reflect on the idea that our difficulties will not go away. Most of us engage in some kind of activity, whether it's an exercise program, or a demanding spiritual practice, with the underlying hope that it will ease or remove some difficulty. It's frustrating to find that even when we do let go of one problem, others invariably crop up. As I age I find this is true of my physical self, just as it is true of my "life's problems."

I really like the approach that, rather than trying to make them disappear, we embrace our difficulties, with the object of transforming them into teachers and guides.

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