Suffering Is Never Alone But Shared

Richard Flyer
293 words, 3K views, 7 comments

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I feel and see the flow of life and death inside and outside me. Sometimes, I resist in despair, saying — why should this be, all the senseless misery? Tears are unleashed.

Torrents of liquid stream from me, dripping onto the sunlit ground. At first, it was a puddle, then a vast pool of tears — an ocean of sorrow from all the suffering.

Oh, the flesh cries out with confusion. My little ego reels under the awesome sight, ripping and tearing.

Life must be more than the struggle of birth, sickness, pain, old age, and fear of death.

Some drown the pain in distractions: with some, it’s drugs, material possessions, or money; still others, it’s power, fame, sex, or false love, with others, religion, politics, or social movements.

None of these satisfy me now.

Naked, I expose my body and mind. Open, there is no place to hide. Raw, I face the elemental forces of creation. Finally, there is a glorious surrender as I break through the veil of darkness.

The spirit of the Great Mystery works through me with more intensity. I feel connected to all beings.

Suffering is never alone but shared.

It is not aimless. There is purpose and direction. Pushed to let go of our silly games, pretenses, petty lies, and deceits until we contact the Truth and Reality inside and regain memory of our divine nature. To see the beauty that is eternal, continually bringing creation and destruction, life and death, eternally striving for awareness of the Great Mystery.

Suffering and supreme peace fit together like hand and glove.

SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the notion that suffering is never alone but shared? Can you share a personal story of a time you moved beyond distractions and faced the elemental forces of creation? What helps you let go of pretenses and deceits and regain memory of your nature?

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7 Past Reflections

On May 7, 2024 Aruna Ram wrote :

Living is being in relationship with everything around us. So suffering can be dealt with movement of energy from support, hope and happiness... All these emotions being a part of universal collective consciousness or energy forms.... This helps to let go of my selfishness to some extent...

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On May 3, 2024 David Doane wrote :

We're not alone. We are thoroughly interrelated. Everything affects and is affected by everything, everything is shared, and that includes our pain and suffering. I think I felt close to elemental forces and mystery when with loved ones who were close to death, and also at times of reflection/meditation into all existence being an expression of elemental forces (to use the author's term). I think I do some letting go of pretenses and deceits, but who knows. I think of my nature as being an expression of Ultimate Being/Energy/Spirit -- I don't know if I regain memory of that nature -- I think of it more as an awareness I enjoy at times of being such an expression. To suffer means to carry. We humans suffer or carry our limited human perspective and awareness.

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On May 2, 2024 Deanne777 wrote :

If I feel empathy from a friend, a professional, a stranger, for my pain, it makes it lighter, magically, and less brutal. If a doctor is all business and no heart, I don't want them as my doctor. The fact of being seen, and acknowledged gives value to what can be a terribly difficult passage. Healing is a shared experience, as suffering can
be as well. Self pity is not a pretty thing. It takes courage to suffer, love and time to heal.

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On May 2, 2024 Jagdish P Dave wrote :

I would like to begin my reflctions on suffering by quoting the last sentence of this awakening article written by Richard Flyer: Suffering and supreme peace fit together like hand and glove. There is no light without darkness and no darkness without light. They are twins, not opposing each other but by joing hands to gether, they create wholness and oneness. I am wrting this from my personal expereinces. Like others, I have had a belief that by denying my suffering I will be blissful and happy. It took time for me to come to relalize that suffering and peace are two wings of the bird of life. By acknowlodging and accepting my suffering without resistance I can create space within me to learn from my suffering, the cause of suffering, and how to be from suffering. I have learned to listen non-judgementally to my inner voice to understand the cause of my self-created suffering, the way of going though it and beyond it. In our weekly Mindfulness Meditation satsanga group we share our ... [View Full Comment]

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On May 2, 2024 Stream wrote :

I find the "notion" of never being alone comforting, however I know that people who are suffering are often unable to experience that. One wound that many humans carry is "abandonment". When life gets tough the experience is, " No one loves me", " I have been abandoned by my family, friends, and God" . I move beyond that constantly by returning to my breath and choosing to see the best in the world and others. And loving myself.