In Others’ Words: What Suffering Requires

Everyone suffers.

I don’t think anyone would argue with that statement.

We might argue with with how much someone suffers — whether someone’s suffering is worse than another person’s … or ours. We might argue with the wrongness or rightness of the suffering. But no one get’s a bye on suffering.

The question then becomes suffering plus what allows us to learn from that which hurts? That which takes our normal life and cause it to become something unrecognizable … something unwanted … and yet, something undeniably ours.

Author Anne Morrow Lindbergh states that for us to learn from our suffering we must add mourning and understanding and patience and love and openness and vulnerability. But isn’t vulnerability the catalyst that allows us to mourn? To understand? To be patient in the face of suffering? To love? To open ourselves up to others … and to the full range of our emotions as we walk an unexpected, unwanted bend in our life road?

Unless we’re brave enough to be vulnerable in the face of our challenges, our heartaches, how can we learn anything from them? Our suffering is wasted … nothing more than pain. But when we become someone who can mourn honestly … or someone who understands not just ourselves but others better … if we are more patient with others who struggle … if we risk loving out loud then, and only then, have we gleaned the wisdom from the suffering.

In Your Words: How has suffering made you wise? How have you allowed yourself to learn from suffering?

In Others\’ Words: What Suffering Requires http://wp.me/p63waO-2ra #quotes #suffering

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\”I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches ….\” http://wp.me/p63waO-2ra #quote #AnneMorrowLindbergh

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