Own Your Mind - A Contemplation

I was just reading from my teachers book "Rebel Buddha" and one line in particular really hit home. He says that sometimes we are too polite with our suffering or our confusion. Sometimes we need to question its authority over us and stage a rebellion. In order to stage that rebellion against suffering and confusion within our own mind we need mindfulness. Mindfulness is the key to reclaiming our mind and heart. We are often getting guests coming to visit in the house of our mind. Mr. Anger comes in without even knocking the door and the he stays around and wears out his welcome. Why do difficult emotions get away with that? Based on what I'm reading it seems like they get away with it because we let them. You may know from the Buddhist teachings or other wisdom teachings that in order to have a healthy relationship with your mind, it is important not to suppress emotions and I would have to say yes I do think that is true. However, we also need to stop entertaining them as if they were special guests as well.

My teacher uses the analogy of mindfulness as being a person in a house who can lock all the doors. When Mr. Anger arrives to pay a visit we can see him coming. Then we can unlock the door and invite him in, hear what he has to say. That seems fine enough. Then its time for the guest to leave. Because we have seen him coming and mindfully let him in, we can also mindfully say goodbye and let him out. We may not want Mr. Anger in at all, yet if mindfulness is our householder then it seems that we can. We can see it clearly, listen and let go. We don't need to be too polite and offer him drinks and snacks and let him bully us into keeping him as an overnight guest! That would be way too polite.