Dear Reader, I need to begin with this image, which is of an oracle card from Mary Elizabeth Evans’s Vessel deck. It shows a 5-pointed star with five eyes. Two of those eyes have tears coming out of them and all are looking up, as if focusing on the spiral shape above them. The star has a big frown and its two blue arms dangle down below it. The caption is “defeat.”
I feel you about this guilt. Especially with this horrible fighting in Ukraine. I feel guilty for going out for a drink... for leisurely enjoying a Netflix movie... having a cuddle with my cat. It's a sadness that can easily envelope and pull me down, but will my suffering make their lives an ounce better? I doubt it...
I liked those oracle cards you pulled.. maybe truth is saying two things can be true at the same time. It is true that so many people suffer, and they don't deserve it, and there's ZERO justification for it. And it's true there are those who don't suffer, and they don't deserve it too. One is not better than the other, it just is. My sister struggled with breast cancer two years ago. Went to infusion treatments, then some radiation, then an operation. She certainly didn't deserve that. Do I feel guilty for not suffering? Yes, all the time. What's hard for me to accept is that the only thing that is certain is there is no logic to this. But I believe all of us struggle in our own way. And that, I hope, is the one equalizer. While my sister struggled with the treatments, she got very close to our mom, and saw a community rally around her. She has seen such a true expression of love from so many. I am lucky to not have to experience that struggle, but then again, I miss out on experiencing that expression of love.
I feel you about this guilt. Especially with this horrible fighting in Ukraine. I feel guilty for going out for a drink... for leisurely enjoying a Netflix movie... having a cuddle with my cat. It's a sadness that can easily envelope and pull me down, but will my suffering make their lives an ounce better? I doubt it...
I liked those oracle cards you pulled.. maybe truth is saying two things can be true at the same time. It is true that so many people suffer, and they don't deserve it, and there's ZERO justification for it. And it's true there are those who don't suffer, and they don't deserve it too. One is not better than the other, it just is. My sister struggled with breast cancer two years ago. Went to infusion treatments, then some radiation, then an operation. She certainly didn't deserve that. Do I feel guilty for not suffering? Yes, all the time. What's hard for me to accept is that the only thing that is certain is there is no logic to this. But I believe all of us struggle in our own way. And that, I hope, is the one equalizer. While my sister struggled with the treatments, she got very close to our mom, and saw a community rally around her. She has seen such a true expression of love from so many. I am lucky to not have to experience that struggle, but then again, I miss out on experiencing that expression of love.