FastSaying

There is nothing noble about suffering except the love and forgiveness with which we meet it. Many believe that if they are suffering they are closer to God, but I have met very few who could keep their heart open to their suffering enough for that to be true. (124)

Stephen Levine

forgivenessgodloveopennesssuffering

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[D]on’t cling to your self-righteous suffering, let it go. . . . Nothing is too good to be true, let yourself be forgiven. To the degree you insist that you must suffer, you insist on the suffering of others as well. (90)
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Letting ourselves be forgiven is one of the most difficult healings we will undertake. And one of the most fruitful. (79)
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Simply touching a difficult memory with some slight willingness to heal begins to soften the holding and tension around it. (74)
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Love is not what we become but who we already are
— Stephen Levine
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But we all suffer. For we all prize and love; and in this present existence of ours, prizing and loving yield suffering. Love in our world is suffering love. Some do not suffer much, though, for they do not love much. Suffering is for the loving. This, said Jesus, is the command of the Holy One: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." In commanding us to love, God invites us to suffer.
— Nicholas Wolterstorff
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