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have your cake.

pain, discomfort and pleasure. these are your guides. pain alerts us to what’s wrong, what needs to go. pain requires us to detach from danger or negativity. pain often presents as a puzzle: why are we constantly trying to push it away, push it down or pretend it’s not happening? because it arises with people, places and things to which we are attached. pain lets us know where we are not free.

discomfort is the path; pain is not the path and neither is pleasure. what’s making you uncomfortable? whatever it is, it’s telling you where you need to change. discomfort is the price of growth. there are people who are comfortable being miserable; they have already abandoned themselves and they will just as easily abandon you. while you cannot trust a man with a high tolerance for pain, you can trust the man who is willing to tolerate the discomfort of his own transformation.

pleasure is a tricky guide. she could easily lead you down the path of comfort, complacency and empty desire. but you want her to show you what’s good, not reveal your greed. pleasure connects us with the body and to earthly delights. we are here for two reasons: to grow and to enjoy what’s good. pleasure is a guide that must be tempered with discernment. you may have to allow her to lead you astray before you can fully appreciate the paradox of pleasure; it is entirely possible to have your cake and eat it too.