"Yeah, I get that, but, why's it so hard? Why must it be so painful?
Why must there be such emotional struggle and spiritual turmoil?"

"Aha, then you don't get it at all.
You study the map well, but have yet to hazard traversing the Path, itself.

Without all the pain, Grasshopper,
without suffering and perseverance,
why bother to try to learn these first lessons at all?
Would you have had the tools and motivation you needed?

Without adversity, where's quality control?

Imagine, if you can, what an eternity of bliss would be worth to One,
who had suffered countless lifetimes in the struggle for that Nirvana,
as opposed to One who was born into such bliss without lifetimes of sorrow to counterbalance; provide context. Is the discrepancy of appreciations apparent?

You see-
if you want to learn, to live, to experience anything worthwhile,
you must accept the pain. Life is pain. That's the deal how it is in the contract: you get to live, but then you have to die. It's called Mortality. It's a joke, an illusion. Get over it. Laugh at it before it gets the last laugh. Welcome it. Let it teach you. Invite it for tea.
Dare to look it in the eye.
It respects that.

That isn't to say give in to it, but, rather, listen to it. Respect it's counsel.
If you must suffer, learn to use suffering,
lest it drain you of your very Soul
and entice you to seek to the same of Others-
That's the corrupting agent, Grasshopper.

Though Pain may well be dark by nature,
it is made bad by abusive nurture.
It mustn't be a construct of Evil.
It can be made an excuse for Light, as well.
There's an example of the play of yin and yang.
Be keen to both, so as to make the most auspicious choices.
Choose to transmute that Pain,
whether emotional, spiritual, physical, or creative,
into a source of inspiration, motivation.
Reflection. Redemption.

Balance is qi, Grasshopper.

Also, try to avoid killing the ants. They're just finding their place, too.
There's no sense in causing more suffering than there must already be.
You wanna talk about suffering? Talk to the ants who carry off the bits of the other Ants you smash! How d'ya think they feel?
Probably nothin', they're just ants.

Point is, not unlike pain,
the ants serve a purpose, as do we all.
Unlike the ants, though,
we are free to define our own purpose.
We must chose wisely.

Now, contemplate that as you get back to sweeping the leaves off the deck.
I have tea that urgently needs my attention."

He combed his hair with his hands and looked off at the sunrise, smiling.

"You're welcome to join me once this chore is complete.
I sense you're almost ready to truly begin your study."

I was strangely afraid he'd say that. I hope he's right.
He always is, but I don't really even know what it means to be ready.
Maybe all just simply is as it must be, and I should just be open to it.
I think I'll sweep a little slower and let all that simmer down.