A Painful Reality
They sat in heavy silence. Jane shredded a tissue, her hands trembling. The Guide watched with stillness. "I can't bear it," Jane whispered. "My son is in constant pain. Nothing helps. I can't accept it."
The Guide spoke softly. "You love him. You ache for him. But can you see the second layer? The layer that says, 'this should not be'? That is where your agony lies."
Jane shook her head, tears falling. "I would do anything to take it away."
"Of course," The Guide nodded gently. "No one is asking you not to care. The raw pain of seeing his suffering is real. Let it be real. Let it break your heart wide open. But the war—the demand that life must change now—that is suffering on top of pain."
Jane breathed shakily. "How do I stop the war?"
"Not by doing. By seeing. Right now, can you allow his pain, your heartbreak, this entire moment to be exactly as it is, without adding 'it must be different'?"
Jane closed her eyes. The heat of grief surged, tightness gripped her chest. She stayed. Nothing was fixed. Nothing needed to be.
The Guide continued, voice soft but unyielding. "This is the fierce compassion: to stand inside pain without needing to fix it. Pain will stay or go. That is not yours to control. The only freedom is dropping the story that this should not be."
Jane slowly opened her eyes. The clenched fist inside had softened. The pain remained, raw and sharp, but clean.
The Guide smiled warmly. "When you allow 'no' to be fully 'no', the grief tied to 'it must be yes' unhooks. What remains is life. Unowned, ungrasped, deeply human."
Outside, dusk settled gently over the trees. Jane exhaled. Not relieved, not crushed. Simply present. Simply here.
Jane stood slowly, wiped her eyes, and nodded. "I don't fully see it yet," she admitted. "But I want to. I’m willing to keep looking, to stay with what is, no matter how hard."
The Guide nodded. "Good. That’s all that’s needed. Stay with the raw truth. Drop every escape. Let discovery unfold in its own time."
Have you discovered the ok-ness of pain?
Have you experienced an ache that you were able to bear?
If you have then come to a group meeting and share it. Others will benefit..
If you haven’t then come to a group and others will help you discover it.
Click here for the YouTube Channel
Free online meetups every Saturday at 9 pm (Sydney Australia time)
and one each Monday 7 am ( Sydney Australia time)
and each Wednesday at 4 pm (Sydney Australia time)
and every Friday 7 am (Sydney time) - never published.
You can check your local time here: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com
Or visit AwakeningWithVince.com for countdown timers to each meeting.
Please note that it's always the same time on the same link. Arriving late and leaving early is fine.
Click here to Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86991485768...
Here is a link to all of the published recordings. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Audio files can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folder...
There is also paid 1on1 guiding here:
Although the website still requires a lot of work, there are resources there;
https://WakingUpWithVince.com
Here is a working version PDF of the web site that can be downloaded.
Here is a link to a new chatbot using the website as it’s knowledgebase.
https://chatgpt.com/g/g-67a6d7d9cb548...
Given the multitude of small costs (that add up to something significant) required to produce these offerings, please consider donating whatever you can comfortably afford. Moneys over and above running costs are directed to the establishment of Suan Jai Sanctuary. (more on this later)
..and remember - lots of little bits make a big bit. ❤️
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Super helpful Vince.