I would guess that most people feel unsatisfactoriness, or mild to moderate suffering, on a daily or weekly basis. In fact, the Buddha taught that suffering, most accurately translated as unsatisfactoriness, is part of life. Do you often feel boredom, unease, tension, irritability, unfocused craving? This is what is meant by unsatisfactoriness. When people hear that this is part of life, there is often a sense of relief, like, "Ah, finally we're acknowledging suffering rather than denying it".

So how do you respond when you feel unsatisfactoriness? In fact, many people may not even be aware that that they are suffering, and they act out of it habitually (for example, by eating sugary foods or snapping at a family member). If you notice that you're suffering, bringing it to awareness, that is the first step in dissolving it. In fact, the Buddha taught that awareness of suffering is one of the three main insights of mindfulness (the others being not-self and impermanence).

Once you have brought to awareness that you are suffering, see where you are in resistance to what is. Unsatisfactoriness is often due to resistance the present moment, taking the form of wanting things to be different or craving something different than what is here now. Of course, sometimes we do want change in our situations, but the first step to change is always to accept things as they are before initiating change. What happens to the unsatisfactoriness if you accept the present moment as it is?

What many find is that acceptance of things as they are now dissolves unsatisfactoriness. So, how do you accept things as they are, and thereby abide in peacefulness? Sometimes, we can simply drop the resistance. To increase the probability of acceptance, we can create the conditions for acceptance. This involves living according to the Eightfold Path, taught by the Buddha. Living according to The Eightfold Path, also known as the middle path, creates the conditions for the end of suffering. The Eightfold Path basically consists of guidance for living according to an ethical code, gaining wisdom, and gaining mental discipline.

I hope you found this post to be of value, and will bring to mind the insight of unsatisfactoriness the next time you're mired in unease, tension, irritability, or boredom.