do
not
suffer
needlessly.
your
heart
has
options.
refuse
to
linger
in
the
pain,
suffering
is
optional.
Tag Archives: suffering
the path fear follows
the unknown
and the unpredictable…the what “if”s…maybe “i can’t”s…the different…
all strike a chord of fear deep in the heart.
this chord sings out that we are helplessness…that our dreams, our future and even our very survival is under threat.
illusive threats pierce through our hopes and frustration sets in.
frustration is enraging; igniting the fiery emotion…anger.
anger is powerful, swift and blinds the heart to reason. anger causes us to want to fight leading us to aggressive behaviours.
but anger must have fuel…it will fizzle with time…and hatred is the fuel that keeps anger burning.
i have found that hate is like cancer. if unattended, it grows deep roots within the heart crowding out love.
hatred alienates us from each other. the heart, dark with hatred, closes in on itself and is no longer capable of fully opening up to embrace love of any kind.
withdrawal from love causes suffering which takes many forms; unforgiveness, regret, discontent, resentment and apathy.
suffering places us back to the unknown, thus reverting to fear…the cycle continues.
we fear a broken heart…
when we fear having our heart broken, it’s not so much about the pain as it is the thought that if broken we can never be whole again.
the anger begins with someone who has broken our heart in the past but swiftly moves toward hatred of potential heart breakers. a closed, isolated heart suffers in loneliness…fearing it will never find it’s deepest desire again.
we fear each other…
we fear that as we observe another person’s creativity (sometimes their very “being”) that there will be no room left for who we are or what we have to give.
fear is birthed in our thoughts and we must be courageous enough to look at it head on…sometimes shaking in our boots…and render it powerless. we must strip fear of it’s power before it takes root.
fear is a lie.
truth, love and hope know no fear…
they blossom in the heart making no room for fear to reside.
i suffer with you
empathy is the ability to step into the shoes of another person, aiming to understand their feelings and perspectives, and to use that understanding to guide our actions.
expand empathy by gaining direct experience of other people’s lives, putting into practice the Native American proverb, “Walk a mile in another man’s moccasins before you criticize him.”
Giving Hope Helps Us Believe In Hope
One night a man came to our house and told me,
“There is a family with eight children. They have not eaten for days,”
I took some food and I went.
When I finally came to the family, I saw the faces of those little children disfigured by hunger.
There was no sorrow or sadness in their faces, just the deep pain of hunger.
I gave the rice to the mother.
She divided it in two, and went out, carrying half the rice with her.
When she came back, I asked her, “Where did you go?”
She gave me this simple answer, “To my neighbors-they are hungry also.”
I was not surprised that she gave–because poor people are generous.
But I was surprised that she knew they were hungry.
As a rule, when we are suffering,
we are so focused on ourselves -we have no time for others.
–Mother Teresa
it can be very difficult to look outward when we are facing trying situations. i think that the heart has a clearer perspective toward understanding when we do. i also think by offering whatever we do have in abundance (how ever small it may seem), we offer hope…and in those trying times…by planting hope for another person, our heart believes that hope is possible when it needs it most.
D
deeclarknz.com 