I’ve always been afraid of heights, and as frustrating as it can be, I’ve learned my limits. I know what I can do and what I cannot, but sometimes I still push the boundaries. Last Saturday, as I stared up at the 60 m ferris wheel in front of me, I did not want to push the boundary. It was there for a reason. When I was little I would stand petrified on the Emergency Exit stairs that had slits in them, and I couldn’t handle the stairs at the YMCA because you could see all the way down to the levels bellow. I’ve never been any fun at water parks as I start hyperventilating and physically shaking as I wait with friends or family on the wooden stairs that lead to the beginning of a ride. Heights are not my thing. I know that the development of a fear of heights has been an evolutionary advantage to humans, but still it can be frustrating all the same. So when my host father asked me if I wanted to go up, I said no. He responded with why? and laughed when my answer was that I would cry, but I knew it was the truth. But here’s the thing, how many times am I going to have the chance to ride the biggest ferris wheel in Thailand? Maybe only once, so I did it. Was it fun? No, not really. Did I cry? Yeah, a little, but I still did it.
Recently, I visited at temple in Ubon that has many white monks. They come from Europe and America to follow the teachings of the Buddha. Some of them write books in English and consequently, there were English books for sale at the temple. My host family bought me quite a few, and this past week I finished one called On Love by Ajahn Jayasaro. The book talked about the Four Noble Truths in association with love and how to reduce/rid yourself of suffering to achieve happiness when it came to love. I may not have agreed with everything the book had to say or its methods, but it did make me realize something. There is a lot of suffering in this world, and much of it is self inflicted, but if the happiness gained outweighs the suffering, I’m okay with suffering a little. Now the book would not have agreed with my previous or upcoming statements, but I think that you cannot escape suffering. You can reduce it, sure, but I do not believe you can purge yourself of it completely, so as long the happiness offsets the suffering, a little suffering is okay.
Now, I don’t promote facing fears just to face them, but if there is some sort of happiness/accomplishment that can come from it, then do it! If the happiness gained outweighs the suffering, you have no reason not to face something difficult. If I was afraid of a little difficulty and suffering, I wouldn’t have come to Thailand. I would’ve gone off to college like all my friends and wouldn’t have had so many incredible experiences. My motto is if it’s not exciting and at least a little bit terrifying, it’s not worth doing, so scare yourself a bit. Do what’s worth doing. You won’t regret it.
Sam
Recently, I visited at temple in Ubon that has many white monks. They come from Europe and America to follow the teachings of the Buddha. Some of them write books in English and consequently, there were English books for sale at the temple. My host family bought me quite a few, and this past week I finished one called On Love by Ajahn Jayasaro. The book talked about the Four Noble Truths in association with love and how to reduce/rid yourself of suffering to achieve happiness when it came to love. I may not have agreed with everything the book had to say or its methods, but it did make me realize something. There is a lot of suffering in this world, and much of it is self inflicted, but if the happiness gained outweighs the suffering, I’m okay with suffering a little. Now the book would not have agreed with my previous or upcoming statements, but I think that you cannot escape suffering. You can reduce it, sure, but I do not believe you can purge yourself of it completely, so as long the happiness offsets the suffering, a little suffering is okay.
Now, I don’t promote facing fears just to face them, but if there is some sort of happiness/accomplishment that can come from it, then do it! If the happiness gained outweighs the suffering, you have no reason not to face something difficult. If I was afraid of a little difficulty and suffering, I wouldn’t have come to Thailand. I would’ve gone off to college like all my friends and wouldn’t have had so many incredible experiences. My motto is if it’s not exciting and at least a little bit terrifying, it’s not worth doing, so scare yourself a bit. Do what’s worth doing. You won’t regret it.
Sam