What Does Enlightenment Say About Your Traumatic Past?
The Answer Might Just Leave You Breathless
Hey, listen up. Ever feel like your past is a prison guard who's always hanging around, keys jingling, reminding you of every screw-up?
You're not alone. Everyone's haunted by something—some skeleton, some monster. You get it. But then there are the so-called enlightened folks. And for them, the past isn't a riddle; it's a damn joke.
Confused? Good, stay with me.
Enlightenment: It's Not What You Think
First thing's first. Enlightenment is not about escaping or rewriting your past.
It's about annihilating the author of that narrative—you. Yeah, you heard me. That ego, that illusionary self you're so attached to? That's your very own Shakespeare scribbling tragedies.
Now, allow me to share a quick anecdote about Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha-to-be. Guy was a prince. Lived in luxury. Shielded from all suffering. Then he peeks outside his palace and what does he see? The Four Sights: old age, sickness, death, and an ascetic. Shook him to his core, but guess what?
He didn't wallow in existential despair. Nope. Instead, he dived straight into it, sat under a tree, and boom! Enlightenment. What's the lesson? He faced the suffering head-on.
His enlightenment wasn't an escape from suffering; it was an embrace of the absolute.
Know the Joke: The enlightened see the cosmic joke in everything. Suffering, joy, birth, death—they're all punchlines.
Your Trauma Doesn't Own You, You Do
Got trauma? Got scars? Cool. We all do.
Now, you might be wondering, how do these enlightened folks deal with their past suffering? Let me spell it out for you: They don't. It's not that they turn a blind eye to their past, or sugarcoat it with philosophy. It's simpler and crazier than that. They're not their past, their trauma, their history, their narrative.
They see those things for what they are—just more riddles of the mind.
Detach: Your trauma is another story in the book of life. The enlightened aren't reading; they're writing new chapters.
So What's The Punchline?
So you got scars. You got issues. You got a past.
Congratulations, you're a human. But enlightenment offers you a ticket to be something else.
A spectator. A spectator to this human drama, not a character in it. If you're seeking enlightenment, don't do it to fix your past. Do it to erase the “you” that's tethered to any past—or future, for that matter. That's it, kids. Want to let go of your traumatic past? Stop being the person who's holding onto it.
And yeah, if you find yourself on a cosmic rollercoaster, remember: It doesn't have seat belts, and it doesn't take you where you expect…
…So throw your arms in the air and enjoy the damn ride.