LIFE LESSONS
The Most Important Choice
you’ll ever make
Pain. Suffering. To be human is to experience these intense, dark moments. But in that negative space, we always have a choice.
Our World
Life is fraught with anxiety, filled with the uncertainty of everything from Monkeypox to a potential economic recession. Whether it’s the war in Ukraine or tensions closer to home, it is no surprise that many of us find ourselves quick-tempered. When our spiritual tanks are near empty and we are in pain, it’s normal to lose patience — with others and ourselves.
It’s All About the How
Even in the midst of pain and suffering, how we react to pain makes all the difference.
It’s easy to be kind when we are in a good place, when our needs are met and we want for little or nothing; kindness becomes, for many of us, a challenge when we are in pain.
The talented Langston Hughes reminds us of the choice we all have in his moving story, “Thank You, Ma’am.” When a teenaged-boy unsuccessfully attempts to steal a woman’s purse on the street at night, she is given a choice:
“If I turn you loose, will you run?” asked the woman.
“Yes’m,” said the boy.
