My marriage is over.

[Jinho]

Re: My marriage is over.

Hi Chogetsu,
I am so sorry to hear of your loss, I wish there was something I could do. Words fail.

gassho,
rowan

[murasaki]

Re: My marriage is over.

Words do fail -- I have been wondering what to post. I will simply offer you my support and understanding, Chogetsu. My own circumstances, though different, are also painful, so I understand. May we all overcome our suffering and be well.

gassho
Julia

[Chogetsu]

Re: My marriage is over.

Thanks again for all the replys everyone, it really means a lot to me.

Think I'll just take it day by day, or maybe even second by second.

Shes moved back in with her mum, so its just me, the cat and the dog now.

Even though most of her stuff is gone, there is still a lot to remind me of her, I feel like im on an emotional rollercoaster at the moment.

I feel like getting away for a few days, just me, the dog and a change of scenery.

Do you think that would make it harder when I came back?

Thanks again for all the support.

[humblepie]

Re: My marriage is over.

Hi Chogetsu. Glad to hear you're just taking it one moment at a time. That's best. I don't think going away for a short time will make it easier or harder for you when you get back home. You just need to give yourself time. I think a change of scenery is a great idea, but just remember...wherever you go, there you are.

You can count on us to be here for you, but also count on your dog. Pets are some of the best teachers/supporters there are. They are there unconditionally.

Peace and deep bows,
Dave

[Chris]

Re: My marriage is over.

Chogetsu,

Life can be very testing at times but you will get through this. Just take one step at a time and live in the moment.

Chris

[rlehnen]

Re: My marriage is over.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, Chogetsu.
I wish you strength and peace.
Take extra good care of yourself.
Renee

[Bansho]

Re: My marriage is over.

Hi Chogetsu,

I'm very sorry to hear this. Please take good care of yourself.

Gassho
Bansho

[Martin]

Re: My marriage is over.

Chogetsu

I am sorry to hear of your pain.

My first wife left me (and our three boys) 12 years ago. At the time I felt like I was shipwrecked, all the parts of me broken up and dashed against the rocks. I didn't know before that emotional pain can actually hurt physically. Nothing much that anyone said at the time helped because, well I wanted her back and they just kept offering me words. What use were words? I wish I'd had a zazen practice then.

All I can say is that this time, too, will pass, I promise you. Time does heal. And quicker than you think possible (though not as quick as you'd like!).

In the mean time, as others have said, take it one day at a time. And be kind to yourself.

Gassho

Martin

[Tb]

Re: My marriage is over.

Hi.

Everything changes.
One day you may be sad, one day glad (happy).
Just be mindful of it.

Mtfbwy
Tb

[chicanobudista]

Re: My marriage is over.

There is lyric from a rap song that has always make me think:

If what they say is "Nothing lasts is forever"
Then what makes
Love the exception

The hardest thing my mother told me when a three-year relationship end was:

"You are not the only one."

That really hit me. Ugh! Most folks just said "I am sorry to hear that."
But. Now. Many many years later, I think my mother's advice rings true.
Don't dwell on the past. Just acknowledge what was good.
There were good times. There were bad times.
But
Take it one day at a time. Live life.

[Jundo]

Re: My marriage is over.

Hi,

Let me toss in some of the Buddha's words, and what is the most fundamental teaching. I am afraid that a "broken heart" is as old as humanity, and at the heart of the Buddha's teachings.

For those new to the word, "Dukkha" ...

No one English word captures the full depth and range of the Pali term Dukkha. It is sometimes rendered as 'suffering', as in 'life is suffering'. But perhaps it's better expressed as 'dissatisfaction', 'anxiety', 'disappointment' 'unease at imperfection' or 'frustration', terms that wonderfully convey a subtlety of meaning.

Your 'self' wishes this world to be X, yet this world is not X. The mental state that may result to the 'self' from this disparity is Dukkha.

Shakyamuni Buddha gave many examples ... sickness (when we do not wish to be sick), old age (when we long for youth), death (if we cling to life), loss of a loved one (as we cannot let go), violated expectations, the failure of happy moments to last (though we wish them to last). Even joyous moments ... such as happiness and good news, treasure or pleasant times ... can be a source of suffering if we cling to them, are attached to those things.

In ancient stories, Dukkha is often compared to a chariot's or potter's wheel that will not turn smoothly as it revolves. The opposite, Sukkha, is a wheel that spins smoothly and noiselessly, without resistance as it goes.

In life, there's sickness, old age, death and loss ... other very hard times ...

But that's not why 'Life is Suffering'. Not at all, said the Buddha.

Instead, it's sickness, but only when we refuse the condition ...
...old age, if we long for youth ...
... death, because we cling to life ...
... loss , when we cannot let go ...
... violated expectations, because we wished otherwise ...

Our 'dissatisfaction', 'disappointment', 'unease' and 'frustration' ... Dukkha ... arises as a state of mind, as our demands and wishes for how things 'should be' or 'if only would be for life to be happy' differ from 'the way things are'. The gap is the source of Dukkha. Our Practice closes the gap

What's more, even happiness can be a source of Dukkha if we cling to the happy state, demand that it stay, are attached to good news, material successes, pleasures and the like ... refusing the way life may otherwise go.

Our Zen practice closes the gap between how things go and how we would wish them to go ...

Mahasatipatthana Sutta

a. Dukkhasacca Pabba (Section on the Noble Truth of Dukkha)

And what, bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of dukkha? Birth note93 is dukkha, ageing is also dukkha, death is also dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain and anguish are also dukkha; to have to associate with those (persons or things) one dislikes is also dukkha; to be separated from those one loves or likes is also dukkha; wishing for what one cannot get is also dukkha; in short, the five aggregates of clinging are dukkha.note94

...


And what, bhikkhus, is sorrow (soka)?note95 The sorrow, the act of sorrowing, the sorrowful state of mind, the inward sorrow and the inward overpowering sorrow that arise because of this or that loss (of relatives, or possessions) or this or that painful state that one experiences - this, bhikkhus, is called sorrow.

And what, bhikkhus is lamentation (parideva)? The crying and lamenting, the act of crying and lamenting, and the state of crying and lamentation that arises because of this or that loss (of relatives, or possessions) or this or that painful state that one experiences - this bhikkhus, is called lamentation.

...

Bhikkhus, this is called the Noble Truth of dukkha.


http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/mahasati15.htm

[Dojin]

Re: My marriage is over.

Hey Chogetsu, I hope you feel better now.
i know i am a bit too late to add my 2 cents but for what its worth i will anyway.

let me start by saying that am extreme sorry for your lose. i know it must hurt like hell or even worse. but as many advices that were given to you above, it will pass.

let me share something with you now...

a little over a year ago my dog died. i had her for over 14 years (just to make it clear my brother is 13 years old so i had the dog longer than a brother), she was truly part of the family. in the end she had a disease that she fought and even overcame it but the strain of the fighting and the chemo got the better of her, she couldnt move or stand up, she was drained of all her strength and was in pain and suffering (you learn to read animals you live with for a long time, same as with people). so in the end we decided to unitize her, a privilege animals have that people rarely receive (as a nurse i should know). i do think it is better to just go sleep surrounded by the those you love and love you with no pain.
she died in my arms... i cried like i havent cried before. not when my grandmother died or my grandfather (whom i lived dearly). i cried! even now as i write these lines i am all teared up!

i swore i would never, ever, ever, ever have another dog! i was depressed for weeks. the fact that i had to get up and go to work the next day didnt help either, i was a mess.
2 month after that my girlfriend found a little puppy under the car of our neighbor. he was so small and frightened, we took him in to save him... he grew up in to a big silly half breed, he is very smart yet not disciplined at all. and he is a trouble maker... yet i still love him.

a few weeks ago was the 20th of march, the date my dog died... i was so sure of it. it turned out to be just a normal day i felt a bit sad for the lose i felt but i accepted it and moved on, its just part of life.
but it turned out that i got the date wrong. it was on the 11th of march... 9 days before. i didnt even noticed it, the day have come and went and i didnt even notice the fact that its been a year. i still dont know how i feel about it... its very weird.

i guess the point of this long and emotional post is just to show you that it gets better with time. believe me when i say that you can take comfort in the fact she lives and that you live also.
life goes on....

Gassho, Daniel Dojin Sherman.