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Today's
Meditation:
You've
suffered. We all have, and each day we suffer some
more, be it from anxiety, stress, tragedy, broken
relationships, or any of hundreds more causes of
suffering. But you've come through the suffering to
become the person you are, and you will come through the
suffering that the future holds for you, and you will
become a stronger, more resilient, more kind and
compassionate person because of your suffering.
Most of us don't go through the huge tragedies that cause
people to suffer immensely and intensely. Some of us
do go through things like depression, though, that do
cause incredible suffering. Somehow, though, we
overcome the suffering and we keep on keeping on.
While this may seem like just the thing to do, it truly is
something to be admired.
I believe that the most important thing that we can do
when we're dealing with suffering is to maintain a healthy
perspective, no matter how far down our suffering drags
us. Four simple words have been incredibly helpful
to me in the days when depression pretty much ruled my
life: "This, too, shall pass." In
these words we see an extremely wise sense of reality, and
an acknowledgment that life works in cycles, and that
though the challenging times do come and affect us, we can
and will overcome the suffering of the dark times, just as
billions of people have done through the ages.
We can take heart that the sun rises every day, and the
darkest night that we go through will eventually be driven
out by the sunlight. There are many ways to overcome
suffering--talking to others, prayer, faith, meditation,
asking for help--and it's important to remember that
suffering does not define us, but how we react to that
suffering just may help to define who we are as human
beings. The fact that the world is full of the
overcoming of suffering is cause for celebration and
admiration; instead, it seems to be a fact that we usually
don't think about much.
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