Suffering has made you more alive

Suffering has forces you out of your complacency, out

Of your inner comfort.

You we have stuffed, satiated, full of tupor.

Your loss has caused you to have a rude awakening.

Your present neediness helps you appreciate the small

joys of life.

You may have noticed how easy it is to find pleasure

With things and people you never really noticed

before:

the colour of the leaves

a greeting from the letter carrier,

a simple handshake,

a colleague's smile,

the sound of certain footsteps,

the intensity of a child's game,

ice glistening in the sun, clouds drifting across a blue

sky,

a summer rainfall.

spontaneous prayers,

love songs with their happy,

and sad, endings.

Suffering can sharpen your senses, open your heart,

Help you see life in a new light. "Blessed are the pure

In heart, for they will see God."

 - How to Befriend your Shadow, John Monbourquette