60 Seconds for Thoughts on Thursday: How Does a Second Arrow Magnify Our Suffering? - a podcast by Diane F. Wyzga

Hello to you listening in Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia!

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Thoughts on Thursday and your host, Diane Wyzga.

Recently I was in a situation where I felt like I was way out of my element. Not quite like a fish on a bicycle but certainly tongue-tied, feeling foolish, even stupid in a place I clearly did not belong. I should not have agreed to be there; but I did and that was the first arrow. For hours thereafter I churned my painful feelings over and over in my head. That was the second arrow.

“If an arrow hits you, you will feel pain in that part of your body where the arrow hit; and then if a second arrow comes and strikes exactly at the same spot, the pain will not be only double, it will become at least ten times more intense. The unwelcome things that sometimes happen in life—being rejected, losing a valuable object, failing a test, getting injured in an accident—are analogous to the first arrow. They cause some pain. The second arrow, fired by our own selves, is our reaction, our story line, and our anxiety. All these things magnify the suffering. In life, we can’t always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. This second arrow is optional." - Thich Nhat Hahn

Practical Tip: When you have a strong response of pain or annoyance to a situation ask yourself, “What is my story line here? Does it deserve the pain of a second arrow or have I had enough?”

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Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

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