Pain. Suffering. They exist as part of the human condition. Buddha said that suffering is created because of attachments we create and have as part of the human experience. We develop attachments to materialistic things, but also, we develop attachments to each other. Because of these attachments, we see each other suffer and we suffer when we see the ones we love in pain. But what about everyone else who suffers? Can we show them sympathy? Can we try to reduce their pain?
There is a love that the Bible talks about that is an unconditional love. That love is charity. In First Corinthians, it states, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh not evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Charity, if it can be acquired, seems to be the solution to showing sympathy and easing the suffering of others, but that is a lot easier said than done. We, as humans, have a tendency to be selfish beings focused on ourselves and getting what we want. The other thing that keeps us from obtaining charity and having empathy for others, especially for people we don't know, is focusing on our own pains. How can we show empathy and charity for someone we don't know, when our focus remains on ourselves and always looking inward?
We need to stop looking inward and stop being selfish. I know that it is easier to write, but it is a necessity to overcome our need for self-preservation and see every life as just as important as our own. We all have worth. The person sitting next to you in class, on the bus, or on the train is important; they have purpose.
When one of us suffers, we all suffer. We are one and the same. I will make it my goal to end the suffering of others where I can. And to put it in the words of Emily Dickinson, "If I can stop one heart from breaking,/I shall not live in vain;/If I can ease one life the aching,/Or cool one pain,.../I shall not live in vain." I don't want to say, at the close of my life, that I ignored the suffering of others. I want to be able to say I did what I could for other suffering and I didn't live in vain.
There is a love that the Bible talks about that is an unconditional love. That love is charity. In First Corinthians, it states, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh not evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Charity, if it can be acquired, seems to be the solution to showing sympathy and easing the suffering of others, but that is a lot easier said than done. We, as humans, have a tendency to be selfish beings focused on ourselves and getting what we want. The other thing that keeps us from obtaining charity and having empathy for others, especially for people we don't know, is focusing on our own pains. How can we show empathy and charity for someone we don't know, when our focus remains on ourselves and always looking inward?
We need to stop looking inward and stop being selfish. I know that it is easier to write, but it is a necessity to overcome our need for self-preservation and see every life as just as important as our own. We all have worth. The person sitting next to you in class, on the bus, or on the train is important; they have purpose.
When one of us suffers, we all suffer. We are one and the same. I will make it my goal to end the suffering of others where I can. And to put it in the words of Emily Dickinson, "If I can stop one heart from breaking,/I shall not live in vain;/If I can ease one life the aching,/Or cool one pain,.../I shall not live in vain." I don't want to say, at the close of my life, that I ignored the suffering of others. I want to be able to say I did what I could for other suffering and I didn't live in vain.
Thank you for reminding us of the need to seek and pray for charity. Your suffering has given you empathy that can and will bless others and thus yourself.
ReplyDeleteYour reference to other people reminded me of a CS Lewis quote
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which . . . you would be strongly tempted to worship. . . . There are no ordinary people.18 18. C. S. Lewis, “Love Thy Neighbor,” The Joyful Christian (New York: Touchstone, 1996), 197.
Mom and Dad