A Tender Heart

Inspired by Olga Jacoby's letters, from "Words in Pain," that were written at the end of her life as she faced terminal illness

I don't want to romanticize another being's pain and suffering. But insofar that pain is an inevitable byproduct of loving in this life, I also can't deny that pain and suffering is a remarkable teacher that makes compassion, and therefore progress, possible.

So many people are suffering right now, sometimes from the lasting effects of our upbringing and lived experiences that makes fear our constant companion; and sometimes from pain inflicted by others who are moving about propelled by their own suffering. And then, there's also the pain inflicted on all of us in the modern world, by nearly invisible systems that benefit a few at the expense of many. These are my teachers, and this pain isn't wasted.

If anything, I know we are made richer for witnessing it within ourselves and in others, and in this richness, in this abundance of feeling, we learn what we ought to do.