An Ionosphere Dichotomy

As I was dealing with the trip emotional hangover and the Amazing Elevating Bicyclist emotional hangover I continued to meditate each day.  I'll tell you this - it's a lot more fun meditating when everything's going well.  It's a lot easier sitting with your thoughts when those thoughts are pleasant and happy.  But when I'm upset about something it really sucks sitting there feeling those feelings, especially since one of my goals in life is to quit running away from my feelings.  I used to try to make bad things go away as long as "used to" means "still."  Now I try to take a look at them dispassionately, not dividing them into categories of good or bad, only recognizing them as feelings.

I don't like feeling crappy.  I like feeling good.  That doesn't make me different from most people but it sure hinders my spiritual development, and I've sure taken this tendency way up into the ionosphere.  Somewhere in our literature is the suggestion that we stop running from pain as if it's the plague - it's a normal part of life, just like death, and I'm going to be one unhappy SOB if I think I can get out of here without feeling my fair share.

The good news about being sober is that you get to feel your feelings again.  The bad news is that you get to feel your feelings again.  This is called a contradiction.  Maybe a dichotomy.  A separation or division of one thing into two things containing apparently incompatible or incomprehensible principles.