"VICTIM OR VICTOR?"

Thought Adjuster: “Those who operate in survival mode experience life as a relentless valley of tears. The more your heart opens, the more you become acutely aware of the sorrow that befalls so many lives. Some go through intense physical suffering; others are in tremendous emotional pain and do their best to process traumatic experiences or come to terms with the widespread planetary suffering they witness. There is also a very real spiritual pain body—the labor pangs of a determined soul.

“No pain, no gain” becomes an experiential reality, as pain brings your focus to matters in need of healing. Where does it originate? How can you get relief when you are in excruciating pain? Medications have been designed to alleviate the misery on the physical and emotional levels. Yet as long as the root cause of the suffering is not pinpointed and aggressively addressed, it will go on more subtly.

Your Master Jesus experienced intense spiritual pain because he lived with such high awareness and a wide open heart. His affliction was due to the staggering scope of the responsibility he willingly carried on his human shoulders to bring spiritual salvation to this world. He encountered tremendous resistance from the part of those he so dearly wished to help. The purity and selflessness of his stellar intentions were shockingly misunderstood.

“The God-conscious mortal is certain of salvation; he is unafraid of life; he is honest and consistent. He knows how bravely to endure unavoidable suffering; he is uncomplaining when faced with inescapable hardship.The true believer does not grow weary in well-doing just because he is thwarted. Difficulty whets the ardor of the truth lover, while obstacles only challenge the exertions of the undaunted kingdom builder.” [UB, 156:5.20-21]

When the going gets rough, emulate how Jesus faced his legitimate fears and moved past them. His living faith helped him move forward despite the deep sorrow he felt. He never fell prey to disabling depression, but wisely subdued it time and again with a this-too-shall-pass attitude while bravely affirming “Your will be done and it is my will to do Your will.”