I am grateful for ancient wisdom which teaches me but also reminds me that my struggles are not new or rare. via /r/gratitude

I am grateful for the wisdom traditions and writings such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, the Tao Te Ching, the Way of the Bodhisattva and the Poems of Cold Mountain.

Growing up in the West, I learned ethics through the Western lens. That laid a certain foundation for me. Expanding my influences as an adult I have added the Eastern Wisdom traditions. These influences have given me deeper ways to look within and work with my mind and my humanity.

These Eastern texts have taught me so much about myself but also about the human experience. Some days, we get lost in our problems and feel like we are alone in them. Reading these ancient texts, however, I see that humans have gone through the same battles for time immemorial. They looked different at times but they were the same challenges I’ve struggled with and they have been the same lines of thought I have had. Nothing is new. Intuitively, we know this but we are sharply reminded when we read things written hundreds or thousands of years ago. We are never alone in our search for truth and meaning.