“The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don’t wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
Just because we are hurting doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities for moments of happiness all around us. One does not need to exclude the other. Allow yourself to be happy when those moments come, even if your suffering is not over.
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“When suffering constricts the heart, awe stretches it back out, making us more compassionate, more loving, more present.” ~Valarie Kaur
I love this image of awe restoring a constricted heart! How often do you allow yourself to truly experience awe as an adult? Perhaps we would all be well served by seeking it out and immersing ourselves in awe more often.
Image created with a stock photo from a Canva subscription package.
“You don’t get to choose whether or not you’re going to be taken to these edges. You will be taken to those edges. The only thing we have to ask ourselves is what we require to make it meaningful.” ~Francis Weller
How do you find meaning in life’s hard times?
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” ~Helen Keller
The world’s suffering is easy to see. It dominates the headlines and surrounds us all the time. The overcoming it tends to be quieter, more subtle, and less advertised, but it’s there all the same if we watch for it.
“Contrary to what we may have been taught to think, unnecessary and unchosen suffering wounds us, but need not scar us for life. It does mark us. What we allow the mark of our suffering to become is in our own hands.” ~bell hooks
This really gets to the essence of kintsugi living, doesn’t it? We always have the choice of “what we allow the mark of our suffering to become.” We can choose to find (and become) the gold of healing.