In this life of ours we will presented with the lofty peaks of our attainment and fulfillment. Yet from every peak will be the often sudden and sometimes gradual ascension to the valleys of our despair and hopelessness. This is the life of all who enter the realm of desire. This is our life and we share the rise and fall, the peaks and the valleys with every other person alive now or ever.
Certainly the Buddha faced the valley of despair as he left his family in the dark of night in search of answers to questions barely formed. And again certainly in his six years search of enlightenment he must have touched upon the lofty peaks of spiritual attainment. And yet every peak proved to be a temporary slope back to the level ground of everyday existence.
In desperation the soon to be Buddha sat himself under the bodhi tree and declared the end to chasing distant peaks. Enlightenment would come to him or not at all. And so it did and what the Buddha found was that suffering was a fact of life. And more startling…was that although pain will indeed be a constant visitor throughout every life…suffering itself is optional.
If we were to ask, perhaps the Buddha would tell us that we suffer in the "valley" due to our longing for distant peaks. The valley itself is just as it is...painful yes...but the suffering is ours alone. By clinging to what we wish for, to what we long for, we deny ourselves the experience of what each moment may hold for us.
My friends, the pain that life offers, the loss and the fear are all spring boards for a new life. When we deny ourselves the gift of pain we miss the deeper healing that takes place. And again we repeat the self inflicted wounds in other moments, in new relationships and differing experiences.
With every ending comes pain...and with this pain...indeed perhaps the pain itself...is the very healing and peace we seek.
My hope for each of you is to find your salvation within this valley. And then may you see that the peaks of your distant longings...are yours forever.
I love you,
Eric
Original Post
Deep, buddy! 
