Dear Hivers,
I would like you to observe this next time. If you look at any tree — and look at it for a couple of seconds — you will know the tree is not the same anymore.
It deceives our eyes — and grows silently.
That is what spiritual teacher Gautam Buddha noticed and told the people around him. The tree changes every single second. In fact, scientists today will tell you new cells are produced around the twigs of every tree — and the inner bark gets thicker while the outer continues to adjust.
With time, the tree we see is actually spreading out further.
What does it tell us?
And growth is our natural desire.
Through nature, we can see multiple examples of growth around us. In fact, we are all growing. Not only do we grow physically — from baby to a child to an adult. But we also grow mentally all our lives.
Right now – within us – thousands of cells are moving and adjusting as you read this. You have blinked your eyes more than ever. You took more breaths. Read more. Understood more.
But when growth is such a beautiful aspect of life, the real question is:
Why do we suffer?
Why do we feel something is not right? Why do we have struggles? Why do we question our purpose and pursue our goals while failing to achieve them? In certain dark times, we can also feel the frustration within — as if we are “stuck” and there’s no road ahead of us.
Why does any of this happen?
This is because growth is tied to desire. We have the desire to grow and the moment we don't grow? We know something is wrong. Deep down, we don't know where to take the next step. I am sure all of us have been there?
And even if we grow?
We will have to face the sufferings that comes from the desire.
The tree you see has gone through the same suffering. It started as a seed. And this seed had the desire to grow. It is important to pause and remember this: Only with such a desire, the seed converts into a sprout and then into a plant — and then the flower blossoms.
You see the conflict?
We have growth on one side. And that is a natural part of us. Then we have the desire attached to it — that leads us to sufferings. I have also found Gautam Buddha talking about desires — and why it is the root cause of evil.
This is why we all suffer — and any amount of wealth, happiness, or even sadness — can’t overcome this suffering. There will be something that will always poke us inside. To escape this bitter truth and forget it all, we escape into a different world picking up new habits.
This is why a lot of our heroes go through struggles to grow. They all know: Pursuing anything worthwhile comes with pain. Success comes with pain. There is no shortcut.
In that case, we admit this – growth with struggles – is the natural way of life. We don’t neglect it anymore.
We treat growth as the ultimate truth of life.
We don't pick growth as an option. It becomes mandatory. We live with it each and every day. And we simply treat growth as life.
Cheers,
Sid
Question:
If you are thinking about this, you may be wondering if there is another way? Maybe doesn’t it make sense to not grow and not have any desires — so that we have no sufferings? That’s a possibility.
If we choose to live that way, we will remain a seed — and a seed has no life. It doesn’t give birth to a plant. And there’s no flower anymore.
That is why we have to grow – to experience life – to blossom like flowers.
This is the first part of the Devotion series based on ancient wisdom and modern reality. I am writing this exclusively on Hive.
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