by Nancy O.

After my last post, one of my faithful readers asked this question: “What do you suggest for those of us who don’t have the money for two weeks in Europe or two weeks anywhere at the moment? My question – and the one that applies to most people on the planet – is how do we find ‘relief from the struggle’ right where we are, doing what we have to do to make a living or care for a relative or children?”

I found an answer to his question in a book I’m reading right now, Combat Crew by John Comer. By the way, it’s a good read before you see the new movie “Red Tails.”

In this journal from a man in the thick of WWII air combat I found these words: “On days we weren’t flying, . . . there developed for me a new pleasure in simple things. . . . One achieves an exalted state of existence only at rare moments. The rest of life is the daily sequence of one small insignificant thing followed by another. If one stands aloof waiting for another mountaintop experience, and fails to find zest in the small matters that comprise most of life, he or she will miss a majority of the best life has to offer.”

I love that word “zest.” Maybe the one small thing someone does today is put lemon zest on his salad. Or walk outside and look–really look–at the wonder of a tree or a flower. Or clean the leaves off the deck or plant a flower.

Many are the years I spent in worry, checking off lists, and going through life without noticing the wonders all around me. Many are the days when I pushed myself unmercifully and terrified myself with my thinking. That’s why today I write about relief from suffering.

Someone told me once that suffering is caused from our own resistance, and I agree. Suffering lives in the mind. Spending even five minutes in silence, focused on what you are grateful for, is like giving the mind a nice warm bath. It refreshes. It costs nothing. It’s renewing. It’s relief from struggle.

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