Sunday, July 16, 2017

Reality Check

Problems: Yours and Mine

Having problems doesn't make you noble or virtuous, it makes you human. Nobility and virtue come from the way that you handle your problems and either move past them or live with them if out of your control.”
Oli Anderson (Personal Revolutions: A Short Course in Realness)

There are real victims in this world; people who are caught-up in situations not of their own making, who have no avenues of exit, and no resources for overcoming, or even coping. Those are the people for whom outside help is absolutely essential. And then, there are people who believe that their personal brand of suffering sets them apart, and in some way makes them special. For them, help can be offered, but is sometimes shunned.

Suffering is part of the life-cycle of every human being on planet Earth—rich and poor, black and white, whatever your nationality or gender. Thankfully, for most of us, suffering is typically time-limited—it is a passage, we move through it, and then beyond it. Like Old Testament, Jacob, who wrestled with an angel, we may walk away wounded, but still on our feet. Recovery requires some time, some soul searching, and some personal work. Recovery doesn't happen in an instant, and it requires that we actively engage in our own healing. Sometimes asking for and accepting help is the hardest first step.

Recovery from any wound, whether physical, psychological, or spiritual, also requires our personal commitment to wellness. Right attitude is crucial to success. A deep desire for wholeness, together with personal responsibility and action can overcome incredibly daunting wounds. Think of all the people who came out of concentration camps after World War II, and went on to lead satisfying and productive lives. We see our service men and women coming back from battlegrounds every day with wounds that most of us would consider catastrophic. But, somehow, some of them muster the strength and fortitude to persevere and even thrive. It can be done. But you have to want it; you have to work for it, and you have to be willing to move past suffering into freedom.

                                                             In the Spirit,

                                                                 Jane

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