The purpose of suffering

My take on suffering has been that offering it up in the trust that thereby I might alleviate the pain of another, both gives it meaning and purpose, and eases it. I feel that we have been gifted with the opportunity to experience the absolute extremes of emotion during our short time here on earth. It isn’t about judgment as such, it seems more about discovering our inner strength and core values. It has been during my times of greatest grief and loss that I have drawn closer to the human collective family than my usual isolated aloof delusion of separateness normally allows. It has been during times of the intense suffering of another that my capacity to face darkness has intensified, on their behalf. Ultimately in our go(o)dness we are singular, and shared sorrow/joy accentuates this knowing.

Earth is our breath, sanctified, being breathed back through us, until we come to see all as self/oneness (this last sentence is the fruit of my 30 years of Buddhist practise, the rest is Catholic study)