The Dali Lama and Scarlett O'Hara

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I am thinking of two ideas today. One is from the Dali Lama and the other Scarlett O'Hara. Bet you never thought I could put those two together!


First, His Holiness The Dali Lama. 


I started reading The Art of Happiness in March. It was here that I was first introduced to the idea that everyone suffers. In that post I said, "it has made me realize I am not immune from suffering just because I haven't experienced a great deal of it before now. Everyone suffers. It is part of life. It is part of my life. It is part of everyone's life. I was not, and am not, immune to suffering."


I am not immune to suffering. It doesn't matter that I have already experienced a loss. Grief is not some protective cloak that prevents bad things from happening to me.


The Dali Lama says, “If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry.”


This brings me to Scarlet O'Hara.


In Margaret Mitchell's classic, Gone With The Wind, Scarlett O'Hara says, "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."


With a little help from The Dali Lama and Scarlett, I know exactly what I have to do.

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