It’s always a choice, no matter how much pain is happening, whether you’ll attempt to rise above it or wallow in it.
From the Lewiston Sun Journal:The Sweet Sting of Relief
From empowher:You’re In Pain. You Want Relief. Naturally
From the Daily Record, Scotland:I climbed all 284 Munros [mountains] despite suffering from two debilitating conditions
I spent some time yesterday looking back at the first few posts of this blog. I began it in March, just two months before the end of a torturous eleven-month medical drug therapy to rid my liver of a deadly virus (Hepatitis C). The first posts were all about the pain of the treatments, about how debilitating and depressing they were but, also, expressing my determination to soar as far above the physical disorders as I could.
One of the greatest aids to flight above physical suffering was my music. I even offered some of my favorites in a post on March 28th:
My All-Time Favorite Musical Group
The other great relief from my suffering was opening my mind and heart to spiritual sustenance.
If you’ve visited this blog before, you know I’m dedicated to raising the issues in current events to the level of Principle. Recently, I’ve been working toward my first comprehensive series of posts. The first in the series will be the very next post I write (more than likely posted on Tuesday). The subject will be Inducing the Will to Act. I’m taking the themes for the series from the fourth chapter of a book called, Peace: More Than An End To War.
To help with my thinking and feeling for the series (it will be a major spiritual and emotional effort) I used a really cool application called Wordle–transposing any text (including a blog) into a word-cloud. I used the text of the document, The Search for Values in an Age of Transition, which I’m studying for a future series of posts.
Here’s the word-cloud (click to enlarge):
Here’s the outline for the series of posts (with the post numbers):
1 Inducing the will to act.
Eliminating barriers to peace.
2 Racism.
3 Extremes of wealth & poverty.
Preventing economic disparity
Fostering altruism & philanthropy
4 Unbridled nationalism.
5 Religious strife.
6 Denial of the equality of women & men.
7 Ignorance & lack of education.
8 Multiplicity of languages.
Evoking Moral Attitudes Conducive to Enduring Peace
9 Material Achievements and Spiritual Perfections
10 Two Wings of Progress
11 The Power of a Moral Character
“Our greatest efforts must be directed towards detachment from the things of the world; we must strive to become more spiritual, more luminous, to follow the counsel of the Divine Teaching, to serve the cause of unity and true equality, to be merciful, to reflect the love of the Highest on all men, so that the light of the Spirit shall be apparent in all our deeds, to the end that all humanity shall be united, the stormy sea thereof calmed, and all rough waves disappear from off the surface of life’s ocean henceforth unruffled and peaceful.”
Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 87
Let’s have a conversation !
Make It Easy !
Get a Free RSS Subscription
For FREE Email Subscriptions
To receive even more value get a Free subscription to our Monthly Newsletter. Just ask for it at amzolt{at}gmail{dot}com
Our Evolution 
I will be looking forward to read all of you’re great post’s..
in the mean time slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.
Catherine,
Even though the series of posts is hard work, I am slowing down to do it, if that makes sense…
Hi Alex,
You have come a long way. You’ve made it through the rain. Now it’s time to sing your song, dance your dance, write your book, do your thing and bow to the stars.
Alexys,
“Bow to the Stars”!!!
Got it!!!!!!!!!!!!
“The Search for Values in an Age of Transition” is a classic document. Thank you for bringing it to my attention again, Alexander.
george,
Yes! Glad I could be of service !!
It’s giving me the meta-ponders . . .