Over the past year or so I have become reading-disabled due to AMD, and I have found that this, too, can be a source of gratitude. Listening turns out to be more enjoyable than reading has been for me in years. Music has become more central to my daily life — a shift I had long wished for but that never seemed to materialize on its own. Learning by ear was always my favored method, and now it is quite essential. And I find myself relying more on friends, which has brought us closer together. For all of these things, I am grateful.
I enjoyed reading this. I was reminded of Nietzsche's remarks on grace in Book 2, Section 10 of The Genealogy of Morals. Maybe he had some idea of where yes-saying must lead. (I do call him, tongue in cheek, my favorite Christian philosopher)
“With great power comes great responsibility”—but the power tends to arrive as a wound first, and the thread grows from that wound.
As I move through my 78th year here on earth, the truth of this statement is finally becoming apparent. I can see these things in myself, and I can see these things in others. In an odd way, this realization has a calming effect. Perhaps it’s the lesson I’ve come here to learn. It’s a little late, but better now than never. Thanks for writing this post.
I enjoyed this. The sense that we 'suffer into meaning' is a guiding principle of soul work and something I write about a lot. I published an essay this week on heartbreak as initiation and the need for post-tragic leadership, which you may enjoy... missing you over here! https://bonnytydeman.substack.com/p/only-broken-hearts-can-save-the-world
Over the past year or so I have become reading-disabled due to AMD, and I have found that this, too, can be a source of gratitude. Listening turns out to be more enjoyable than reading has been for me in years. Music has become more central to my daily life — a shift I had long wished for but that never seemed to materialize on its own. Learning by ear was always my favored method, and now it is quite essential. And I find myself relying more on friends, which has brought us closer together. For all of these things, I am grateful.
This is incredible! I love pieces that draw connections between different schools of philosophy and this one is particularly powerful
Thank you. Yes, suffering is what creates compassion. (Necessity is the mother of invention. )
I enjoyed reading this. I was reminded of Nietzsche's remarks on grace in Book 2, Section 10 of The Genealogy of Morals. Maybe he had some idea of where yes-saying must lead. (I do call him, tongue in cheek, my favorite Christian philosopher)
“With great power comes great responsibility”—but the power tends to arrive as a wound first, and the thread grows from that wound.
As I move through my 78th year here on earth, the truth of this statement is finally becoming apparent. I can see these things in myself, and I can see these things in others. In an odd way, this realization has a calming effect. Perhaps it’s the lesson I’ve come here to learn. It’s a little late, but better now than never. Thanks for writing this post.
Yes. We often see the beauty of something from a superficial point of view.
But we don't often realize the pain, the pain itself is the beauty that gives it depth. And that depth is what draws us towards it.
I enjoyed this. The sense that we 'suffer into meaning' is a guiding principle of soul work and something I write about a lot. I published an essay this week on heartbreak as initiation and the need for post-tragic leadership, which you may enjoy... missing you over here! https://bonnytydeman.substack.com/p/only-broken-hearts-can-save-the-world
I really enjoyed reading this with my morning coffee.
It is not easy to fully love the suffering, but if you at least go in that direction you will have it easier than others that resist it.
Suffering is a precondition to change, and change is the expression of life.