At first I was surprised that people with the same disease had such very different stories.Later I became deeply moved by these stories, by the people and the meaning they found in their problems, by the unsuspected strengths, the depths of love and devotion, the rich and human tapestry initiated by the pathology I was studying and treating. . .These stories engaged me at another, more hidden point.I too suffer from an illness . . . I listened to human beings who were suffering, and responding to their suffering in ways as unique as their fingerprints.Their stories were inspiring moving, important.In time, the truth in them began to heal me.
...it is not the thing itself...that is the problem; but it is our clinging to the thing even
when it causes us, ourselves, and others mental or physical pain, which blinds us to a
bigger view and snowballs into more suffering. Ultimately, the challenge of letting go
becomes a spiritual act in some way: in many
spiritual traditions, surrender is the backbone, as
Mohammed says in the Qur'an, "True religion is
surrender." And so as we grasp at the beautiful red
leaf, we just might let it spin again in the autumn
wind, delighting in that tiny leaf-filled and empty
moment.
~ from HAIKU MIND: 108 POEMS TO CULTIVATE AWARENESS & OPEN YOUR HEART by Patricia Donegan