The Great Equalizer -- Coolhombres

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time ]

Subject: The Great Equalizer

Author:
Frizzell

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 19:13:54 05/07/02 Tue

I think it's safe to say that AK found the sweet spot again. Well done.

I like the language Adam used, particularly the word possibility. When I suffer the first thing I do is consider the options. I think most people do. What is the best way to alleviate my suffering? What is the quickest way to alleviate my suffering? Most of the energy expressed by a sufferer is directed at resolve. Now, this isn't all bad, but, most significant problems that cause significant suffering are not easily and/or quickly eliminated. Meanwhile we must continue living, we must continue being. Enter perseverance. As Adam said we persevere or we quit and begin the process of atrition. I know people who quit, I know people who perpetually quit. The self medicate or they burden everyone with their problems constantly. Consequently the never progress to the next step...development of character. If we quit and don't persevere, we don't develop character and if we don't develop character then we don't hope. Why? Because character cares for hope. Those without character don't hope or care for hope. Hope is a virtue and those without character wouldn't want anything to do with it anyway. They can be optimistic but that is very different than hope.

As Adam said we have a possibility. A possible way to live our life, in hope, receiving the nourishing love of God, no matter our circumstances. It is not necessarily a hope that hopes for immediate resolve of a problem, that would be only partially satisfactory, an incomplete hope. That hope would only solve the immediate issue. What about the next problem? The hope that is spoken of here is a hope that truly "solves" the problem. A hope that hopes for something that should be hoped for. We are now in a position to receive the love of God that was being poured out to us all this time. This reception of the love of God is what helps us move through our world in the midst of our suffering.

I have experienced this only once or twice and it truly is amazing. The only thing that I can liken it to is coming to after an anaesthetic. Everything becomes clearer.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]