A Moment of Suffering

Because we live in a world that seeks beauty without effort and success without hard work, we have come to misunderstand what it means to suffer.

Suffering is not something that happens to be people who are bad or deserve it. Suffering is a part of the process of living. Through our suffering we learn to accept that we are not in control…and we’re not supposed to be. That control we think we possess is an illusion and suffering will cause the mirage to fade.

In truth, suffering is what we were dong before things became uncomfortable. It didn’t feel like suffering because we have mastered the art of anesthetizing our feelings. And then one day the suffering that has been going unnoticed becomes so strong it cannot be ignored. At that moment we would like to believe that it is something that suddenly happened. Unfortunately, it had probably been happening for quite some time.

Remember the tone of the country after 9/11? People were afraid because it seemed to happen so suddenly. Then remember the shock and horror when it was discovered that the pilots were trained here in our country and had probably been plotting that event for years. It’s scary to think about; however, had we already been taking certain precautions, had we not become so narcissistic as to think we were above being struck down, it might never have happened that way. The good thing is that, despite the way it happened, what happened in the aftermath of suffering was beautiful, wanted, and needed. People helped one another. People were gentle and compassionate with one another. It was one of the most beautiful things I have seen. The country was bound together in love through our suffering. Suffering forces us to pull on the best of our humanity.

A friend of mine once prided himself on his education, his career, and the success of what he had accomplished. Then he was fired from his job. In the course of the next year he lost his home, his car, his fiance, and a good number of people he had considered friends. He took it in stride and continued to laugh and smile. One day I sat with him and I asked him if he was happy. He looked at me with a quiet sadness in his eyes and said, “I hated that job, I never could afford that house or car, and I never believed my girlfriend and I would be together forever. I wasn’t happy then. So, you can’t lose something you never had.”

Suffering humbles the spirit and forces us to look beyond all the superficial, temporary things that we use to make us “happy.” Suffering strips us down to our true selves and in our suffering we see our life for what it really is.

So the next time we find ourselves suffering, we shouldn’t waste time feeling sorry for ourselves and trying to blame someone or something for where we are. Instead we should see it for what it is: an opportunity to know the truth and respond to the truth with the best that we have.

Suffering, like so many things in life, works in contradiction to teach us life lessons. Only the heartbroken ever really understand love, only the poor ever appreciate wealth, only those that suffer ever truly understand life.

Violet Ambitions turn suffering into healing.

What We Know

What we know is that as we stand face to face with the darkly glass what we see begins to melt away. We see the limitations of flesh and circumstance fading and the shadow of truth is illuminated. The truth is that we are infinitely more than we coul ever have imagined and that truth is not limited to us but extends to everyone.

What we know is that as we stand face to face with the others we see the truth about them and it brings us to the truth about ourselves. What we do to others, we do to ourselves. What we fear about others, we fear about ourselves. What believe about others, we believe about ourselves.

What we learn about ourselves is that we are more than what we see on the surface. The substance of our humanity is intangible and infinite. We are spiritual beings. Spirituality is about relationships and the connection that is shared by every living thing on this planet.

What we know is that there if there is any way that we are going to change the world into a place where dreams come true, we will have to recognize our individual place in the collective journey. We may think we walk alone but truthfully we are not the only ones taking the exodus from reality. We are not the only ones seeking our dreams; we are all awakening, we will all make the exodus from what we call reality. We may not always see the others. They may not always be exactly where we are on the path. But we are not alone. On the deepest level, we are all connected.

Violet Ambitions are shared collectively.

But Then Shall We Know

“Knowledge is power” by WAK

We must understand that however expansive a lifetime may seem, it is but a blip in the lifespan of the planet, a speck in the lifetime of the universe, a blink on the continuum of eternity.

What we endure in a few decades is brief. We must make the most of it in order for it to count. We love, we lose, strive, we succeed, we fail, we try, and we try again. What we know, we learn again, but that’s okay. In every now what we know and what we can be is limited.

But now is constantly moving towards then and eventually what is becomes what was and what will be overcomes the limitations of what is. A child can only comprehend within the confines of what they know at that stage of development. Then as they mature they develop a new understanding of the very same concepts the encountered years before. We know this and realize that it is part of the process of growing up. In comparison to the world, to the universe, are we not merely children struggling to grow up?

Then is a moment ahead of us where everything we have experienced, learned, suffered, survived, and endured will make sense. It will all seem worthwhile in the by and by. The purpose will be revealed, after while.

The purpose of evolution is perfection. We are getting better. Even if only by fractions. It doesn’t seem so now because our understanding is confined, but then shall we know.

Violet Ambitions is a journey away from now leading to then.