There is no escaping the challenges that life throws at us. This realization can make it easier to accept troubles when they come our way. It is a major waste of energy fighting the 'unfairness' of life. As humans we collude collectively in the illusion of control. If I work hard, play fair etc etc, life will be good to me. It might, but then again it might not. We have no control and the sooner we accept this the sooner we can roll with the punches when they arrive. Knowing that we have not been singled out for any difficulties we might be facing is actually very helpful. We are not the cause, it happens. That's all. What matters is how we deal with what comes along and the more we can accept the impermanence of everything and everyone around us the easier the vicissitudes of life will be. Beware the second arrow! The first arrow is the stuff that happens. The second arrow can be caused by our response to what happens. More of that again. 

Yesterday I went on a beautiful walk by the coast for 3hrs. The sun was shining and people were in good spirits. There was a feel good atmosphere in the air. I had reminded my self that this would be a mindful walk and that I wouldn't allow current issues to encroach on my headspace. And, you guessed it, the opposite happened. I found myself constantly dragging my thoughts back to the present like a headstrong toddler who just won't cooperate and go the way you want. At first I was very frustrated with myself. Here I was, having read all the books and committed myself to this practice and I couldn't walk ten steps without getting distracted! Then I just decided to have an internal giggle every time I noticed my mind wandering and I stopped, stood and looked around. For the last hour of the walk I was hardly distracted at all and I got absorbed by all that was around me. Lesson ? GO easy on yourself. It's all new. You'll get there quicker if you befriend yourself, your thoughts and emotions. 

This was my introduction to Buddhism. I had heard that Buddhists believe that life IS suffering but that's not the whole story, thankfully! The four truths as I understand them are 

Do one thing differently every day that will take you in the direction you want to go. For me, I pledge myself each morning when I wake up to make today a Buddhism practice day. I set an alarm to go off on my phone at noon and at six. It is my check in with myself time. I check how I'm feeling, how the day is going, how is my practice going." Practice what?" you might ask ! Having read the books listed on the book page I have distilled things down to a few simple things that I want to start with. At first it seemed all a bit overwhelming so I decided to pick a few simple things I could start with. . My priority list may be different to yours, but here's mine.