so i’ve managed to grab some internet time on the road. whoopee.
Those feelings you refer to that come up for us are more of a wake up call that urges us to do something than a place to dwell in.
Sure, and I’ve also experienced the need to fully digest that kind of sorrow. Actually, to do more than that - to never stop, to keep grieving, keep it moving, to keep it liquid so it doesn’t turn into a hard stone and start destroying me and mine. This idea that grief turns stone-like unless you keep it liquid really has helped me stay sane, and not fear sadness, sorrow, feelings of failure, and so on. So to hear someone say “stay positive” when I have a lot of hurt to keep moving would incite me to violence. Or, more seriously, to not share myself in that way with that person ever again.
Buddhism is not what you think.. that is it's not WHAT you THINK. Buddhism cultivates states of attention and equilibrium not so different from a hunter's awareness.
A conversation about Buddhism probably belongs in its own thread. Let’s keep this one for the grief and praise.