“There are only two tragedies in life.
One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.”
– Oscar Wilde
This speaks to the Buddhist understanding that preferences and clinging to them lead to our suffering. We are always in relationship with experience either through desire or aversion. We want something we don’t have or want to keep what we have. We don’t want something we have or don’t want something that we don’t have. Either way this resistance with the way things are will cause dissatisfaction. The ultimate segue to freedom is the capacity to be present with equanimity with what we experience. To be present with a balanced perspective no matter what we encounter.
by Dr. Phil Blustein
August 25, 2025