Learning To Suffer

If you relax your hold
on the rudder of your life,
you may feel the tug
of karma and chaos,
steering you swiftly
into turbulent waters.

You may feel control dissolving,
like a mirage,
as reality impinges,
through the immediacy of touch,
of sight, of hearing,
on the orderliness
of your mind’s inventions.

You may learn to open
to the nudges of experience,
both strong and subtle,
in each pregnant moment,
shattering you complacency.

You may learn to suffer,
but gently, as in your mother’s arms,
and to sail through suffering,
towards the shores of peace.