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Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast.

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Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich, and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life.

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Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye.

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I'm aware that with today's technology, artificial intelligence can summarize any topic

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of the Buddha's teachings in a matter of seconds, and you would get a much better

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article than anything I could ever write.

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The only things I can share that ChatGPT cannot offer are personal experiences from

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my own life where applying the ancient teachings has been tremendously helpful.

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After all, our challenges today with attachment, judgment, desire, aversion,

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greed, ego, hatred, and ignorance are not modern problems. And despite what many

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people would like to think, there is nothing personal or unique about any of our issues.

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We are all subject to what Taoism calls 10,000 sorrows, and 10,000 joys.

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A friend recently told me, "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my health the most."

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This deeply resonated with me because health is the highest luxury we can experience in life.

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Think about it: the moment any of us lose 

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our health, we would willingly trade anything to get it back, but that's not always an option.

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Sure, we may sacrifice certain things to improve or maintain our health, but it's rarely

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an immediate exchange with instant results.

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I recently had to trade a once-in-a-lifetime experience in order to recover from yet

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another medical setback, and let me tell you, I didn't even hesitate for a second to cancel

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my plans so I can focus on getting better.

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A wonderful couple in Cape Town, South Africa flew me down to officiate their wedding

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at Mount Rochelle Nature Reserve.

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Unfortunately, I apparently caught some sort of bacterial infection on the flight over,

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and although the ceremony portion of the trip shortly after my arrival went smoothly,

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I remained painfully ill for the rest of my stay despite multiple doctor appointments,

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a surgical consult, and various medications.

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I was so looking forward to that trip for months, and we even prescheduled

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additional adventures for my visit, but you know what they say...

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If you want to make God laugh, make plans.

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The Buddha's very first teaching is a realistic reminder that aging, sickness, pain,

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discomfort, sorrow, and death are inevitable.

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Any attempt to resist them creates even more frustration, irritation, and anguish.

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The only real power we have over the unavoidable is how we choose to respond to it

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I mentioned this story in The Opposite of Namaste, but it bears repeating here:

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The Buddha compared physical pain to being shot with an arrow.

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Adding mental pain to it, such as aversion, displeasure, or self pity, 

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is like being struck by a second arrow.

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We may not be able to avoid the first arrow, 

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but with enough practice, we don't need to suffer the second.

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So, when people asked me for specific details about the medical issues I was having in

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South Africa, I chose not to wallow in my sorrow or listen to myself complain,

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but to focus on healing, instead.

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This message is an invitation and reminder for all of us to safeguard our health by

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avoiding the second arrow in all situations, especially if things don't go according to

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your plans, your hopes, or your wishes.

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When we focus on health, 

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all the opinions we tend to fret and argue about become trivial in comparison.

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So, please, don't wait until you are sick to realize this.

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Our time here is short, our energy is limited, 

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and our highest calling is to be kind to ourselves and others. 

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In sickness and in health, I vow to continue to be of-service.

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Thank you for being on this journey with me.

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I appreciate you.

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Timber Hawkeye is the bestselling author of Buddhist Boot Camp, Faithfully Religionless,

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and the Opposite of Namaste.

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For additional information, please visit BuddhistBootCamp.com,

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where you can order autographed books to support the Prison Library Project,

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watch Timber's inspiring TED Talk, and join our monthly mailing list.

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We hope you have enjoyed this episode 

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and invite you to subscribe for more thought-provoking discussions.

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Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love. 🙏