Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teaches us that avoiding “bad emotions,” or labeling as bad or good at all, is how we begin to create suffering. Instead it recognizes that pain is a normal part of life that is best accepted and experienced as it comes. Rather than making a judgement and pushing away bad experiences or emotions, it is suggested that all are welcomed in and accepted. For many new to Mindfulness, this is a new concept that is difficult to understand. The poem below is very old and often used in mindfulness training to help explain this concept.
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
— Rumi
photo credit: Ian _Windy
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