HELPFUL HINTS….

~Written by Rabbi Harold Kushner, and edited from THE GIFT OF GIVING by Michael Lynberg

Sometimes our life’s calling is faint. We are unable to move forward because life has dealt us a severe or tragic blow. The “still small voice” that once urged us to do the greater thing is now scarcely audible, deadened by our pain. It is hard to think of leading an extraordinary life…seizing the day to partake of one’s beauty and joy, when there is so much hurt inside us.

In the midst of such despair we wonder if we will ever again feel warmth….will we ever again be able to love and feel deeply, to overcome our numbness…to do the things we dream.

The answer is yes, but with much patience and gentle effort. There is a season for everything and the season of healing must run its course. There is no measuring progress in days or weeks or even months, only by our ability to gradually regain what is best in ourselves.

But with patient work and faith we will pass through our crisis leaving one phase of our lives and entering another. We will never be the same person we were before, but with renewed strength and deepened sensitivity we will be able to move to new areas of growth and fulfillment.

There are no easy answers. But a first important step is to seek the community of others who “bear the mark of pain.”

We need to get over the question that focus on the past and on the pain - “Why did this happen to me?” – and ask instead the question which opens doors to the future. “Now that this has happened, what shall I do about it?”