The first thing I read this morning, "Love consists...in having great detachment and in suffering for the Beloved. (Saint John of the Cross)," gave me a slight twinge because I immediately added "in suffering for the Beloved by denial of self."
That is my ultimate idea of suffering...denial of my self, my self-centered expectations, my wants dressed up as my needs.
No person with a lick of common sense loves physical suffering, I'm guessing the overwhelming majority of people avoid that and rightly so. It is emotional suffering that is the dreaded pox.
So there's the mountain to climb...the willingness to emotionally suffer for the God of my own understanding whose only job is guiding me to peace. It's all about letting go of my own self-determined objectives while striving for the perfect objectives which are of my own God.
The last word: "To live without self-centered expectations is the secret of freedom in personal relationships." Eknath Easwaran
Thank You.
No comments:
Post a Comment