This is very private work that is only shared with intimates or a carefully chosen stranger, if at all. Even people with strong religious beliefs must put a personal spin on their faith, and internalize it in a new way. "What is the point of my life? Where have I succeeded? Where have I failed? What is the meaning of life in general?" This is deep, dark work for a deep, dark time. Surfacing Meaning "Why do I have to suffer this way? Why does God allow this? Is there a God? What kind of God?" The search for meaning leads us to question everything. Our natural longing for wholeness serves as the motivation to do the work, which includes the following: It can be avoided, but it can't be denied. This work is instinctive it doesn't need to be taught. It calls for soul-wrenching interior work to emerge whole on the other side of the experience. Eric Cassell defines suffering as "the state of severe distress that threatens the intactness of the person." Coming to terms with all the losses that accompany a terminal illness and facing the end of worldly existence is the essence of suffering: a burden to carry and a wall to break through. It's an unfortunate, unavoidable part of every life.ĭr. (That would be heaven.) In this world, to eliminate suffering we would have to eliminate breathing. How many times have we heard, "No one should have to suffer"? In a perfect world, there would be no suffering. Suffering strikes us as fundamentally wrong.
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