Tuesday and COLD

Well, looking out the window behind the computer screen I see snow and I swear I can see the air as it is so cold it has significant mass/density. The dogs provide some of the steam from breaths as they run up and down the fence line barking at the squirrels. The squirrels, who find life safer running across the power lines, just flick a tail now and then at the dogs...pisses off the dogs to say the least!

Started a new book last night. I have run out novels and switched to the more scholarly works I have accumulated but never got around to reading ( this is my time to "get around to" all sorts of things I have put aside). The book focuses on the nature of Suffering. Being that my profession is immersed in the relief of suffering by the patients and families I serve, this is highly applicable to me. It is very thought provoking.

What I have realized is that suffering happens every day to some degree in all people. I considered the fact that everyday we are placed in positions where things are not as we want them to be: living with a devastating illness or self or loved one, being separated from ones we care for, not being able to find a parking place near the store we need to visit, loosing a sock in the wash AGAIN!...they all add up to suffering on some level.

Now, one would want to qualify that some suffering is greater than others... holocaust survivors certainly suffered more than the man who has 6 over due movies at the local Blockbuster, but that may not be the case. Suffering is an individual journey and experience. Too many details play into the fabric of what suffering means to the person.

I will face my own suffering with a new heart and the sufferings of those I come in contact with. I will see with new eyes how each person may suffer and do what I can to alleviate that suffering if only for a moment with nothing more than an authentic smile.