"In order to live fully we may need to look deeply and respectfully at our own suffering and at the suffering of others. In the depths of every wound we have survived is the strength we need to live. The wisdom our wounds can offer us is a place of refuge. Finding this is not for the faint of heart. But then, neither is life." --Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. My Grandfather's Blessings
Everyone experiences their own spiritually, physically and emotionally taxing trials and tribulations in their lives. Is it possible to truly find refuge in these wounds that are so difficult to heal?
This quote from Eat, Pray, Love has been running through my mind these last few days. This quote, I believe, is the answer to the question stated above:
"A friend took me to the most amazing place the other day. It's called the Augusteum. Octavian Augustus built it to house his remains. When the barbarians came they trashed it a long with everything else. The great Augustus, Rome's first true great emperor. How could he have imagined that Rome, the whole world as far as he was concerned, would be in ruins. It's one of the quietest, loneliest places in Rome. The city has grown up around it over the centuries. It feels like a precious wound, a heartbreak you won't let go of because it hurts too good. We all want things to stay the same. Settle for living in misery because we're afraid of change, of things crumbling to ruins. Then I looked around at this place, at the chaos it has endured - the way it has been adapted, burned, pillaged and found a way to build itself back up again. And I was reassured, maybe my life hasn't been so chaotic, it's just the world that is, and the real trap is getting attached to any of it. Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation." --Eat Pray Love
It may take time to recognize the place of refuge out of ruin, but it is possible. My professor at school has said, "Self-awareness is what makes us human." Be aware of the strength you had to make it through various times of suffering and ruin. Then celebrate, because in that time of finding your strength, you also found refuge.
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