Unfolding. . .
We often wish for smooth roads and sunny skies, but life, in its honest unfolding, offers us something far more valuable—difficulty.
Difficulty is not punishment. It is not failure. It is the turning of the soil before new growth. In Buddhism, we do not seek to escape hardship—we seek to understand it, sit with it, and learn from it. For it is in our most trying moments that the teachings come alive.
The Buddha himself knew great difficulty—loss, confusion, physical suffering—and it was through that very pain that he awakened. He did not find peace in spite of his struggles, but because he embraced them.
To grow from difficulty means to allow life to teach us, not break us. It means looking at our pain and asking, “What is this showing me?” rather than “Why is this happening to me?” It is a shift from victimhood to awareness, from resistance to wisdom.
Growth does not always look graceful. Sometimes it looks like tears, stillness, or starting over. But within those moments, transformation is at work. The lotus, after all, rises from the mud—not the clear water.
What we endure can deepen our compassion. What we survive can strengthen our spirit. What we learn from suffering can soften our judgments and open our hearts.
Today, let us not turn away from difficulty. Let us meet it with the courage to grow. Let us allow it to shape us—not into something harder, but into something wiser.
Grow gently. Grow honestly. Grow through.
Peace and Love, Jim
#unfolding #thedailybuddha #tdb
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