“To be alive is to be in pain sometimes” sounds really obvious but it really touched me

What you bring up about not layering on the additional mental narrative we make for ourselves regarding our experience is often described by the buddha as the parable of the "second arrow". Life will often have things that happen to us which are outside of our control (pain, sickness, partner cheating on you) which are unavoidable scenarios. That is the "first arrow" that hits us. The "second arrow" is the suffering that we cause ourselves through our own mental rection to things. The stories, victimization or "why me"  mentality is akin to striking ourselves with the second arrow.  The first arrow is inevitable, the second one is optional  :)

these "elementary thoughts" are things some people (i especially) need to hear. i was lingering in my emotional pain rather than doing something about it, i've tried to keep busy but i know i can be more busy. its odd cause i was isolated and then cheated on so i feel profoundly alone but seeing this video helps lol ! nothing more to do than keep moving forward

When something bad happens, instead of "oh i shouldn't be going through this rn, if this or that had happened i wouldn't be going through this" what you need is acceptance that pain is inevitable. You cannot always be in a state of happiness and the fact that if pain didn't come from this situation it would've come from some other situation. Trying to fight the pain by thinking you could've avoided it only makes it harder to deal with it. The pain is yours it was always meant to be so accept your pain and also accept that even despair doesn't last forever

A couple years ago I got hit by everyday endo/nerve pain and chronic fatigue and i spent ages agonising about how unfair it felt but what actually helped me feel better was making tangible efforts and plans to make it feel alright. I use hot water bottles, I eat food I like, I spend time with my friends, and I make accomodations for uni and work and those material changes help more than any agonizing ever did - so however introductory they are, I think these are really important thoughts to keep in mind because pain really is one of the hardest things to accept, at least for me, and most people will go through it at some point

i know these thoughts might feel elementary to you, but it’s the simple stuff that people need to hear sometimes! the ideas that r like “wow that’s so true, why didn’t i think of that?” and being able to practice them from there are the ideas that pass us by too often, so don’t worry :)

i think that some people have the privilige of having a support system and when you dont have that its even worse to be in uncomfortable situations

as someone who’s chronically ill (used to have 25-30 migraine days a month, less now & also have PoTS), it is sometimes hard to hear when people complain lots about short-term pain. but ultimately, everyone deserves a space to vent, and to me it sounds like you don’t mean to compare these kinds of pain out of an awareness that that might be invalidating. so, from my perspective, there’s no reason to worry about coming off rude. it’s refreshing to see someone reflect on this kind of stuff!! (despite it … potentially being a level 1 thought, because it seems many don’t even get past the demo, or they don’t even start at all) i like the way you put words to things i also feel or that resonate with me :)

edit: i commonly see people describe endometriosis as chronic pain/illness as well, so if that’s something that you feel applies to you, and feels validating, there’s no barrier to identifying with that. just wanted to put it out there, because people often feel like they’re not ill enough. if one’s untreated periods are so rough to live with, they sound disabling. just depends on whether you wanna take such a label or not!

I honestly found this whole episode so helpful, fresh and interesting. I learnt a lot, despite it being, as you're saying pretty "basic" stuff. Even though it is a way of reacting to pain and "injustice" a  lot of us might relate too and therefore seems quite obvious I think by putting it into words and perspective is very important. I can only speak for myself but before hearing you put  it into words and context, it has for me only ever been a vage sense of feeling and reaction to a situation, I have never thought of what it actually means. I guess it is a way of thinking I discovered within me but never actually tried to undersand and unravel. Now, I'm not at all saying I have mastered this philosophy (for lack of better word) and use it in all my difficulties but it has sort of been in the back of my head. Now I feel like it is clearer and I can intentionally channel it and lock into that way of thinking. So thank you Aleks!! If that makes any sense, let me know :)

MY SHOWWW IS ONNNN

Genuinely believe that you entered my brain and verbally illustrated all my thoughts

I love love hearing the evolution of the way others process the world. It is profoundly impactful to be prompted to reflect not with wrathful judgment but with real curiosity. We may feel that our behaviors and our beliefs are coextensive, but they simply are not! They are shaped by separate things; they do not always influence each other. The ascertaining of a new belief does not guarantee assimilation in the behavior and vice versa.  Though the process of realignment may feel as if an obvious oversight is being easily fixed, it really is a much more complex act of picking a misaligned behavior (a needle out of a haystack),  expanding it to the belief it corresponds to, comparing it one's core beliefs, and choosing to remedy the situation. At the time of suddenly realizing the magnitude of misalignment within myself, this video is really hitting the spot for me and also has added my hatred for discomfort onto the long list of things I need to reflect on.   T-T

I really liked this episode! at the end you said that this video felt more like something for yourself then for us watching it, but that's totally okay and valid to share. it was enjoyable for me to watch it anyway, so thank you for sharing your thoughts!
also, I wanted to talk about the way I cope with being in pain or ill, which is mostly thinking I am responsible for my well-being. thinking so, I have to remind myself that I should ask for help when I need it, or take some medicine, or look for health assistance, even if it's uncomfortable. if I don't do that, I might be putting myself in danger, and I'm more scared of that than the pain or shame I might feel.

Post exam escapism❣️

This was an insanely fascinating episode, as I am not used to people shedding light onto this very much. Thank you, Aleks!

I do find your notions of “To be alive is to be in pain sometimes”, catching the Why me? loop and noting that "I am not any less deserving of pain" to be so soothing and to be so blatantly true.

Myself, I am also so wildly blessed to not experience pain chronically, but something that my mother told me, who is very vulnerable and prone to physical illness and pain, is when she is in that state of pain, rather than obviously falling into victimhood, ( I feel this frustration of wishing for a universe where you were not in pain more taxing than anything, and can make the experience all the more dreadful than it already naturally is, no matter, I am derailing. ), during her fits of pain, instead of falling into these common thought patterns, she shifts the perspective, the narrative, and instead grows curious, and she, in a sense, lets go, and stops resisting the pain, which is essentially the same premise of your beautiful episode here.

She asks the universe "Is there more? Well, if so, I welcome you (the pain)". Of course not always, but by the end she is relieved from most of the pain. The experience is still unpleasant, I do not think it ever can't be, but this is something she tells herself, that I thought would be nice to share.

For those of you who are in pain, I really hope ease is right around the corner for you beautiful souls <33333333

Hi soggyy luv u <3 and love the podcasts

Love your podcast

Let's go, soggyrice3 podcast is so backk!!!

a new podcast episode!! i am soooooo hyped up for this! i seriously love the soggyrice podcast!! also i know this is far-fetched but is it possible to get another minecraft special when you hit 100k….🙈🙉🙉

saving this to watch while i have dinner tn🤓