Some wonderful person wrote this without disclosing his/her identity
"I am alone and lonely. I want a companion. Other people have companions, why don't I? I have so much to give and want a person to share it with. I look around and see happy couples and wonder why I am deprived of this. I sometimes feel almost as though I am being punished! I just want to be loved."
"I hate my job. It doesn't give me any opportunity to develop my talents. I have much to give but no outlet for it. I don't know what to do. These people don't have any idea what I can do and couldn't care less. I want to be fulfilled but it won't happen here. I am so frustrated."
"My family treats me like an alien. They don't understand me; I can't count on them. They don't have any idea how I feel and they don't care. I try to get along but it is almost impossible to communicate with these people."
"I have a hard time coping in the city. The traffic, the crowds, the smog, the prices (and it's not safe to live here). I do my best to get through it but I really live for the weekend when I can get away, or at least hide at home."
"I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired all the time. Enough is enough. This flu has lingered long enough and I'm fed up with not feeling good."
"If I had money (REAL money) all my problems would be solved. I'm tired of struggling, of not having enough for a short trip or a new car or a few decent new clothes. Other people have these things and nice homes, and jewelry, etc., and I don't have. I haven't had the opportunity to get the money I know I could make if I just had the chance. Rich people I know of aren't any smarter than I am and don't work any harder than I would."
Many of us can identify with at least one of the above - or have. Maybe it is our constant mantra. All of the above are sounds of misery. Any feeling of lack, of loneliness, of decline, not being understood or appreciated, being depressed and/or frustrated - "Misery" is the best description of these feelings.
Misery is a constant refrain. It is experienced in different degrees by different people, but misery is misery. There is a common denominator in all these feelings. In fact, they all the same feeling and have the same source - "I" or "Me" (despite the fact we are convinced it is "they" or "them").
The Law of Misery is this - the degree of misery experienced is directly proportionate to the attention on the self. The more miserable a person, the more attention he or she is directing inwardly. It is measurable, it is infallible. The minute the attention is turned outward, the same moment the misery evaporates. Turn it inward, the misery reappears. This is a law and is easily proved (check it out).
It should be clarified at this point that self-knowing and self-observation are not what is meant here by inward attention. These practices are valuable and don't MAKE me miserable - I may be miserable, and by disidentifying, observe that I am miserable, and KNOW that I am and freely experience it - this is a world apart from blame and guilt and self-pity, which the above little songs are full of.
Our function is to be aware, consciously, objectively, non-judgementally. The purpose of this function (I, this one, me) is to serve Life.
What use would a camera be if its lens focused into the box? Would it serve the photographer? A microphone that picked only sounds within its metal casing? Would it serve the singer? A thermostat that registered only the temperature within its little covering? Would it serve the comfort of the party? A phonograph needle that only registered the vibrations within the arm of the machine? Would it serve the music-lover? Countless examples could be given.
We are servants of Life; our service is to observe objectively what is going on around us so that Life can function through us. (And when we work on reporting objectively what is going on within, this is only a method of fine-tuning the instrument so that it can perform its function.)
The moment attention is consciously diverted outwardly, the misery is thwarted. It is the law, it cannot be broken. I cannot indulge in the inward attention of misery and still perform my true function. The misery is not in the perceived lack, or pitiable condition - the real tragedy is the perversion of function.
Whether we like the law or not has nothing to do with its validity. It will always perform. It is as reliable as, for instance, gravity, or any other natural law. Do I like or not like gravity? The question, of course, is so irrelevant as to be absurd. My opinion (or how I feel about it) is simply not relevant. Gravity just IS. Any attempt on my part to refute this will end in failure at best and disaster more likely! Breaking the law of attention/function will have the same results, although possibly it takes longer to show up. If it were faster, we might catch on a lot more easily!
If I am truly interested in spiritual growth, I will have to recognize this law, and eventually will submit to it. There is no other way. The inward direction of attention - energy - is consumptive and will lead to decline, deterioration, death. (Not to mention neurosis and insanity!) The correct performance of function - radiation of energy - is the only method of spiritual evolution. It's up to me - once I see and understand the law my free will will choose and follow one direction or the other. There is no other way.
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