Resisting Life 1

A Path to Enlightenment

The more we push back against this perceived struggle—whether it’s through holding on to past pain, refusing to accept change, or resisting the reality of our situation—the harder life seems to get. This is a battle we can never win because life is always moving, always changing. Life is bigger than us. However, there is light at the end of a very long tunnel. When we learn to move with life, instead of against it, things start to shift. We may not always get what we want, but the suffering from resistance softens.

Waking Up

At the heart of this concept is the idea of waking up, or becoming enlightened. It’s not about having all the answers or never feeling pain again, but rather about seeing life for what it is and accepting it fully. When we “wake up,” we stop fighting against the flow of life. We realise that much of our suffering comes from our refusal to accept what is happening. In that refusal, we create more pain for ourselves. Enlightenment, in this sense, is simply the understanding that life is going to happen whether we like it or not, and our job is to learn to flow with it rather than against it. It’s all a matter of shifting our attitudes.

Now, there’s a profound connection between this idea and the way people approach suffering. Some believe that there are really only two ways to end suffering: by waking up and embracing enlightenment, or by checking out of life entirely. But here’s the kicker—leaving life prematurely doesn’t actually solve the problem. It’s like trying to escape a tough situation by running away; it doesn’t disappear just because you’ve left the scene. You may leave your current experience behind, but you will come back to face it again.

Many spiritual traditions hold that life works in cycles, with reincarnation being a way of returning to learn the lessons we didn’t grasp the first time around. In this sense, leaving life early through something like suicide may mean that you’re delaying the inevitable, whatever that is for you. You will be back to face the same challenges again, perhaps with even more weight attached to them. This perspective invites us to consider the bigger picture.

Resisting Life

Life isn’t meant to be easy all the time, but resisting life is not the answer. Not in the short or long term. We’re here to grow, to learn, and often that growth happens through adversity, through the hard times. The tough times are what push us to seek a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. They force us to confront our limits and, ultimately, to transcend them. If life were always smooth sailing, we’d never feel the need to wake up. We’d never search for that deeper peace because we’d be too comfortable where we are. Suffering, then, isn’t necessarily the enemy, it is a signpost. A very important one that we usually choose to ignore, or pretend is not there. It’s a signal that something within us needs to change—not the external circumstances, but how we are relating to them. As Captain Jack Sparrow once said, “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem“.

This is where the idea of “resisting life” becomes so crucial. When we resist, we’re essentially saying that life should be different than it is. We’re caught in this mental loop of wishing things were different, better, and that creates a lot of suffering for us and for those around us. Resistance comes in many forms—it can look like anger, frustration, denial, or even avoidance. But in every case, it’s rooted in a refusal to accept life as it is. We often, angrily and arrogantly, think we can control life, bend it to our will. HA! That’s an illusion. Life is bigger than us, and it’s going to unfold how it unfolds. Our role is to meet it with openness, rather than trying to force it to fit our expectations.

Control

On the other hand, when we stop resisting, when we let go of that need to control everything, something shifts. The challenges don’t necessarily disappear, but our relationship with them changes. We start to see them as part of the flow, part of the process of living. Instead of fighting against the current, we learn to ride it. That’s what it means to “wake up.” It’s about becoming aware that much of our suffering is self-created, and that by accepting life as it is, we can find a peace that’s not dependent on external circumstances.

This isn’t an easy path, and it’s not something that happens overnight. But the more we practice letting go of resistance, the more we experience that sense of inner peace. We start to realize that life is always going to throw challenges our way—that’s just part of being human. But those challenges don’t have to break us. In fact, they can be the very things that wake us up, that help us see beyond the surface and tap into a deeper understanding of who we are.

The Path to Enlightenment

Enlightenment is about embracing life, in all its messy, unpredictable glory. Instead of viewing suffering as something to escape, we can see it as a teacher, guiding us toward a greater awareness. When we stop fighting against life, we stop fighting against ourselves, and that’s where real peace begins.

So, the choice we face is not whether or not we’ll encounter suffering—that is a given—but whether we’ll resist it or learn from it. The path of enlightenment, or “waking up,” is about choosing the latter. It’s about realizing that life is happening for us, not to us, and that every experience, good or bad, is an opportunity to grow.

In the end, resisting life only prolongs, and even perpetuates the suffering. But when we wake up, when we accept life on its terms, we find a peace that’s unshakable. It doesn’t mean life gets easier, but it does mean that we stop adding unnecessary pain to our experience. And that’s the kind of freedom we’re all looking for, isn’t it?

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Click here to see part 2 of this blog.

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You can heal your life.  You have nothing to lose, and remember,

Thoughts Have Power.

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