“The obstacle does not stop the practice, the obstacle is the practice.”
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When I was little, from childhood to pre-teen, I remember that I often thought a lot about the things I should do in the near future. Something like a high school exam, or accompanying adults where I didn’t want to visit people. Obligations that children do not have much to say, as many of their choices are made by their elders. It is now common knowledge that thinking about the future generates anxiety and, although I can’t remember whether I was anxious or not, to soften the impact of those thoughts and obligations I ended up rationalizing phrases like “oh, it’s just another obstacle, then everything will be well” and projected the imagination for after the “obstacle”. This function lasted for a while until I grew and the need to repeat this to myself was decreasing. Today I can’t remember when was the last time I thought something like “an obstacle”.
Last year, 2020, on walks through social networks, I ended up coming across a phrase in the profile of a great friend: “The obstacle doesn’t interrupt the practice, the obstacle is the practice.”. I fell in love instantly, as this phrase synthesizes a philosophical thought about the truth inherent in all human beings. Pretty bold statement, so to speak. To ALL human beings? It is tangible to say that all of us, regardless of any differences in social class or race, have challenges in life. It is enough to be born, the first of which is to survive and, later, reach old age in good health without dying along the way – fragile that we are. Anyway, I’m not here to direct the text to such a lofty thought, of life and death, involving all of humanity. Who am I. I would just like to emphasize that regardless of the cradle we are born, there must always be respect for the path of others (remembering that respect does not mean liking or participating together). All paths have their equivalence of difficulty and obstacles that each one can tolerate, none is easier or more difficult than our own, even because it is ours. Perhaps some go more towards intellectual suffering, while others go towards physical or emotional suffering. Since everything is transitory, in the same life we can navigate through different sufferings and obstacles. It shouldn’t be too difficult to identify them, because everything that is “bad” and takes us out of our comfort zone is very easy to see. It is really difficult to turn the paralysis of the obstacle into action.
Today, at age 35, I stop to analyze my life and notice some spheres of which I belong. Through them I have as one of the goals self-knowledge, the search to improve myself as a person, and a possibility to understand the world around me. They are spheres that came to me through all the randomness present in the universe. When they performed, I tried them, liked them and purposefully adopted them. To illustrate this better, Photography is a sphere of which I am a part. Photography and image for me are not only a work that generates material wealth, but also a tool for growth and knowledge. Something I chose to study and bring awareness to understand the world. If I so wish, and succeed, the sphere of photography will remain with me until the end of my life. Or until I’m overcome by the obstacles generated by deepening her studies. These obstacles will present themselves in many different ways: from the most palpable of the material world to the most subjective of my inner self, such as financial problems to buy equipment and afford the profession amidst so many technological advances, to something like feeling envious of other artists and deal with my own expectations regarding what I myself understand photography is. Both are obstacles to be overcome, but winning does not mean eliminating them, but integrating.
I gave the example of photography, but the possibility is huge and it works in a different way for each one. The common thread is that, for every practice that we persist – and that does not necessarily need to be related to self-knowledge – there will be obstacles built in there, as side effects of the practice itself. A loving relationship can also enter into this. Obstacles will appear in the relationship, it is up to those involved to understand the constant change that surrounds them to face the relationship as an opportunity to observe themselves through the other, and thus learn to improve themselves as a human being. But it is necessary to leave the commonplace and face the obstacles that will appear as a natural part of the process of this union. If the relationship is based on illusions, and the couple lives sort of in the automatic/unconscious, without persistent work to break each other’s patterns, the relationship is bound to end. In liquid terms, of contemporary fleeting relationships, the first stone in the path causes a couple to break up, because the tolerance of those involved is increasingly low. It is easier to change partners or partners than to persist and understand what is bothering you there. The obstacle is the encounter itself, the practice itself.
Of course, this does not mean that we do not have the free will to abandon people, professions or situations. Knowing how to say NO is also an obstacle. After all, our child had to say several yeses back there. Knowing when to deny and choose not to follow a certain path is often more important than persisting in an issue that only causes harm. To understand when this fine line is being crossed requires a good deal of discernment, checking whether the decision is a legitimate will or an egoic persistence based on a trigger. Since we are composed of narratives established from childhood, breaking out of a vicious narrative is an unprecedented victory. This discernment can be obtained through a state of peace and harmony with the center itself, an ideal balance between the internal and the external, possible to acquire through meditation/silence – but not only it, any practice that makes you look inward contributes to the process.
Meditating is a practice full of inherent obstacles. First, because nowadays it presents itself as a solution to all problems, when in fact it will exalt them at various times. It does not show solid results as clear as the day, only with good frequency will it be possible to understand what is happening inside you, and how it relates to the whole. In a society where everything needs concrete explanations, signed diplomas and public recognition, persisting in something so “subjective” and individual will bring many questions and discomfort to the practitioner, both physically and mentally, making them have a dynamic of avoidance of practice, ready to give up at the next hurdle.
It is important to stop and look deeply into the spheres in which we are involved in this present moment of life. It’s impossible not to say that each of them presents obstacles, which over time can become a chronic problem if neglected. That’s why an action is important. It is through concrete action in the world that we pass over the stones of the path. A real movement, however minimal, such as simply choosing to rest, will be enough. The action, in some mysterious way, will lead to the solution (to a reaction), even if not immediately. So, patience. If we become paralyzed by obstacles, we run the risk of being mistaken for a stone ourselves, making life the greatest practice of all, the greatest obstacle ever lived.
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