I was inspired by this title and here goes,

Everyone desires happiness and success in life. We wish to have good health, freedom, friends, fun, happiness, money, etc. We see our friends, colleagues, and strangers having a good time on social media. Happy events are more appealing than sad situations on social media. After some time, people may even wish to pretend that unhappy situations do not exist. We only show the world the best in our life story. This encourages a culture of denial, the denial of pain and suffering.

Is this really good?

Are we failing to teach an important skill to the future generation? 

And that is the skill to face adversity with poise and strength.

In short, our modern world seems to be saying, “You are a failure if you are not okay”. Instead of seeking help, we are conditioned to hide our pains and unhappiness; Just like how we are showing only the best side of ourselves on social media. We wish to be liked by others and to be liked, we can only show them that we are okay.

Maybe this is not unique to the modern world. Maybe mankind has been like that since the ancient past. We like to look the other way and pretend that something bad is not happening right in front of us.

Buddhism is different. The first noble truth states that life is suffering. It provides us with the acknowledgment that life is never okay to start with. Therefore, it is okay not to be okay.

It is okay to grow old every single day since birth. It is okay for eye bags and wrinkles to appear. We can embrace that with wisdom instead of spending a fortune on cosmetic surgery.

It is okay to fail an examination, lose a job, or even become bankrupt.

Buddha started his religious life without a single cent in his pocket and he is still remembered more than 2,500 years later

It is okay not to be liked by others or lose our popularity, Just because somebody doesn’t like or love us, doesn’t mean we are no longer valuable in this world.

In short, this world has never been perfect. Nobody is perfect. It is okay to be not okay.

As Buddhists, we may even find ourselves celebrating such imperfections in life because It validates our wisdom to embrace the message of Buddha.

Therefore, let us remember that nothing is okay and that is just the way it is. That is a noble truth. It is okay to be not okay. Instead of trying to hide the imperfections in our lives, let us learn to look upon them with wisdom. And from thereon, may our minds soar higher, and may we not be so bothered about appearing okay all the time.

May all be well and happy.