Welcome Everything, Push away nothing

Could this be my new mantra?  welcome everything - push away nothing?

I am reading through the book The Five Invitations in which this is written:
"Welcome everything, push away nothing is first and foremost an invitation to openness.  In the Buddhist way of thinking, openness is one of the key characteristics of an awake and curious mind.  It does not determine reality, it discovers it."

I read this yesterday and have pondered it as I  reflect on the events of my life.  Welcome them all. Audrey and  I saw  the documentary shorts for the oscars yesterday.  They were each about some really significant and hard topics: racism, death, hate, discrimination.  It was emotionally exhausting to view them.

There was one called "End Game" which was about a hospice and it brought up all kinds of feelings and memories around Chuck's death.  There is still a part of me that wonders if we could have done more or something different.  I tamp down those questions but a film like this brings them to the forefront.  This morning I read about turning toward suffering and it included this equation:

                                              pain + resistance = suffering

I have sat with that for a while this morning.  Reflecting on the gift of art which overcomes resistance and allows us to not deny unsettling thoughts and feelings but  live into them.  There are no answers, of course, to these questions about the past but just acknowledging their existence somehow helps to move on.

Here is another quote from the book:

"In the end, the only way through suffering is for us to allow what is happening, welcoming the experience and introducing awareness and compassion where denial was predominant."

And the word COMPASSION seems to be key here.  We can look into the pain as we develop compassion for ourselves as well as others.

This all seems kind of heady as I write it, but somehow it really grabbed me this morning.  Once again the reality of living and letting go and being more vulnerable and open is the path to peace and joy.  I get that and yet I will always struggle with denial, self protection and defensiveness on some level.    It is a journey - that is for sure.

I start the day with these thoughts and the awareness that i have to pack today for a trip to Phoenix tomorrow to my friend Susan and her family.   I don't know what the time will bring but I hope I can welcome everything and push away nothing!