create_destiny (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
create_destiny) wrote2005-10-20 01:59 pm
create_destiny) wrote2005-10-20 01:59 pm
The Way of Suffering
from Christ The Eternal Tao by Hieromonk Damascene
I give you no formulas, says the Way,
I give you no equations.
But I will heal you in my own time,
In my own way,
Imperceptible to you.
Your mind races, seeking a solution;
But there is no solution that can be grasped by the mind.
Your mind tries every avenue,
Thinking that at least one will open up suddenly on the longed for goal:
Freedom from pain.
But every avenue is a dead-end;
You are up against a wall,
The goal is not reached.
That is because the pain is there for a reason.
It is like a maddening fever that burns up and drives out disease.
By it alone do I heal you:
Without it you will die in your sickness.
By it alone do I change you unto perfection:
Without it you will be as a foreigner in my Kingdom.
Seek no formula.
Seek no equation.
Only be patient:
Wait on me
While I do my unseen work inside you.
When you are changed and fit for my Kingdom,
You will know that something happened,
And that is all you will know.
But there is no need for thought.
Enter, then, into my joy,
You who have waited, in devotion, in my pain.
I give you no formulas, says the Way,
I give you no equations.
But I will heal you in my own time,
In my own way,
Imperceptible to you.
Your mind races, seeking a solution;
But there is no solution that can be grasped by the mind.
Your mind tries every avenue,
Thinking that at least one will open up suddenly on the longed for goal:
Freedom from pain.
But every avenue is a dead-end;
You are up against a wall,
The goal is not reached.
That is because the pain is there for a reason.
It is like a maddening fever that burns up and drives out disease.
By it alone do I heal you:
Without it you will die in your sickness.
By it alone do I change you unto perfection:
Without it you will be as a foreigner in my Kingdom.
Seek no formula.
Seek no equation.
Only be patient:
Wait on me
While I do my unseen work inside you.
When you are changed and fit for my Kingdom,
You will know that something happened,
And that is all you will know.
But there is no need for thought.
Enter, then, into my joy,
You who have waited, in devotion, in my pain.
no subject
But I also think there is something, some grace or some underlying strand of benevolence that does undergird us all. This poem gets to that, I think. It's very hard for me to accept it, but in my soul I cannot get rid of the sense that nothing in the universe is ever wasted, nothing is ever anything but the most precious thing there is.
Beautifully put. I often feel the same way, but there are times when it's so obscured it's hard to go on.
Your name is Sarah, right? These last two posts of mine were only for a handful of people on my friends list who I felt I could trust with my sorrow. You are one of these people and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being the person that you are and being a channel of light, wisdom and hope.
Yes, there has been tremendous growth from every painful experience in my life. Ug. When will I be grown enough?