Spiritual Things Matter

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer. ~Albert Camus

Due to the recent loss in our family, I have contemplated once more the meaning of pain and suffering that we as humans so often experience. No one wants to suffer and none of us want to go through the process of suffering. This process is painful and it is a place of profound loneliness as we face those “winter moments” in our lives.

I have tried to imagine what life would be like if we never had to suffer. And if throughout our lives, everything went exactly the way we wished it would be. If we had all the love, all of the talent and intellectual capacities, if we were all-powerful and had wealth beyond measure, what would we as human beings be like? I wonder as multi-dimensional beings, could we grow, develop and strengthen our inner spiritual selves and our physical and mental well being? Could we comprehend, even in the least, that life is far greater than the meeting of our external physical needs? Would we simply exist in an infantile state only seeking to gratify the next desire?

When a person experiences suffering, the pain can go very deep. Often words can utterly fail us. We would rather find a place to ourselves to shelter us from the voracity of the assailant. Indeed, if we could, we would retreat completely until we have a chance to heal and dry our bitter tears.

“Life is difficult.” This is the first sentence Dr. M. Scott Peck wrote in his ground-breaking book, “The Road Less Traveled.” Dr. Peck gave us the benefit of this work that I would recommend to everyone to read at least once. And so it is….life is difficult and arduous! This is also the first of the “Four Noble Truths”, as taught by Buddha. “Life is suffering.” And yet, something profoundly beautiful can take place in a human life when they experience suffering. It is within their own choice to transform it into something workable and meaningful in and for their own experience. Life on this earth gives us many opportunities to grow and evolve into generous, kind and loving human beings. Not all will chose to go that path but the opportunities are there each and every time we encounter hardship and loss.

Pain and suffering create an inroad into our deeper selves. Kahlil Gibran says it beautifully, “Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” This “understanding,” once realized, is profoundly transformative and provides us with the means to “ground” ourselves in order to find a greater purpose for our lives.

I wish for each of my readers to be strengthened when you go through your own pain. Indeed, pain will come to all of us, without exception. The treasure of God lies within you and it is within you where you will find the wisdom and understanding that you will need. All the strength and fortitude will be there to enable you to live through each painful second. Be not afraid but understand that you are never alone. You will emerge stronger, having learned lessons that could never have been bought for a price. That, I believe, is called, “Grace” and that grace will be your gift!

Gently, I smile as I realize,
The pangs of my pain
The wounds of my sufferings
Are transformed into
A tranquil river of love. ~Viola M. Jaynes

I am a great admirer of Kahlil Gibran’s work. The wisdom and the depth in his writing is profound, beautiful, and moving. One of my all time favorite is out of his book, “The Prophet.” Today, I would like to share it with my dear readers. May it speak to you as tenderly as it always speaks to me. May love awaken us and teach us life’s most valuable secrets.

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say,
“God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it find you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart
and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

~Kahlil Gibran

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being,
the more joy you can contain.
~Kahlil Gibran

Most all will be familiar with Kahlil Gibran’s writings. They are beautiful in their style, simple and yet so profound. He has influenced my thinking a great deal.

Joy and sorrow are part of the human condition. We all will experience both. We all have had times were our spirits have soared to its highest mountains, and it would seem we could hardly contain our joy and our happiness. Yet, inevitably, times come when we experience pain that seems so acute that we may feel we cannot bear one more moment of it.

I get very concerned when I see such a large number of our population going on anti-depressants these days. Once, when I was tempted to numb my own pain with a pill, a doctor friend of mine said this: “The anti-depressant may even out the moods, but you will not be able to feel the heights of the joys you experience, or the lows of the sadness and pain you may encounter.” I thought about that for a long time. I chose against going on anything.

I am forty-five years old, grew up in an orphanage, and have felt times of extreme loneliness and depression. Many difficult and challenging situations have come my way that I had to handle somehow. I’ve succeeded and I’ve failed! Yet, I know I am fully human! I have experienced each emotion that came with each circumstance, profoundly and intensely. Each person has their own story, their own experiences. I only tell of mine because that is what I can relate to the best. The breakings and the healings have made me search for spiritual truth more then anything else. It is the only thing that makes any real sense to me. Sorrow has created in me a heart to search out God, and a desire to love in greater measure. It continues to be a growing process but I have felt the possibilities of such a reality. I have seen it with the eye of my heart. The joy in those moments, when I am able to see God’s hand at work…even in the most minute details, is joy unspeakable. Those moments always bring profound meaning to all things – even to sorrow itself.

Please don’t misunderstand, I realize that some are advised by their doctors that they would benefit by being on anti-depressant for a time – possibly to help in time of dire need and depression. However, it should never be forgotten that to be a human being is to be full of emotions. Raw, expressive emotions that will allow us to live life to its fullest potential.

Joy and sorrow are one – they are inseparable. Let us have the courage to embrace both!

Viola Jaynes