Existence

[Eva Libre]

"The understanding that everything anyone does is a result of karma -- of causes and effects -- has helped to keep me from labeling people as good or bad. Circumstances or behavior can change, of course, but at any given time no one can be other than the sum of all his or her contingent causes. A student in a class discussion about this topic once said, 'When people ask me, "How are you?" I always answer, "I couldn't be better." Because I couldn't!'

It's true. We couldn't, any of us, be better. In our most out-of-sort days, we couldn't be better. If we could, we would. Suffering happens, but no 'one' decides to suffer."

~ Sylvia Boorstein, from her essay, "Three Marks" of Existence"