There is a really incredible, unbelievable, intangible, almost absurd beauty on the other side of suffering. By ‘other side’ I do not mean overcoming trauma, as one can never fully escape one’s suffering, but rather, I mean those moments, however long they last, for an hour, for a day, for months, for years. But I think we can consider them in those particular breathes we exhale in a moment when you just are.
Without pain. Without memory. Without fear. Realizing you are still alive.
That you can or have laughed again.
A suspension of time and place towards the divine.
When your smile, laughter or silence comes not only from your mind but from deep inside, not even from your body, but from a deeper, spiritual, and compassionate place.
There is beauty in suffering.
At first the statement may elicit detest. For what beauty could possibly be found in or through such tremendous pain and suffering? But to those who have felt the depths of such an experience, and have been brave enough to face it (even if you had no choice), you have gained something so unbelievably rare that no amount of money, no amount of fame, no amount of envy, or ego can ever compare… this is found in a particular kind of knowledge. By knowledge here I mean a deep set of realizations, feelings, intensities, blissful moments, however fleeting, of a deep meaning and purpose.
Bravery is a huge aspect of this knowledge but not all of us are able or equipped to feel the weight of this intensity equally, at all, fully. However, for many of us, we are often left with no choice. Which makes it no less brave. And for some us, it is too much to bear. And for those who are still struggling, we offer some light.
Shit gets real.
This series will explore the insights from a diverse range of experiences and people who share in this sense of realization. They will share in their honest experience of what certain events have meant for their lives. They reflect back on the instances at hand, explore feelings in present moment that overwhelm them, and share their fears for the future. Overall, they will explore the journey to realizing their pain, and how this pain may have remained hidden in their lives causing them harm in their daily living. It is therefore what is being called a ‘living story’. A set of realizations occurring at the site of reflection. For many of our writers, this is the first time they have written, or in some cases, reflected so purposefully on their experience. What is the goal then? Well mostly obviously to seek the embodiment of the sentiment, “do not mock a pain you haven’t endured”. And, also to allow the writer to share their ‘experience’/knowledge with others. This is not for us to consume the pain of Others, but to empathize in a deep, critical way.
The goal for the reader is to experience the writing. As something that transforms us,
not just entertains us.
An experience that forces to confront uncomfortable truths in our lives and in our worlds, and then simultaneously asks us to question how our own individual suffering can be used productively to improve our lives, but also our collective conscious.
Who?
The writers of The Living Story do not yet know each other and their individual work will be shared anonymously, unless they should otherwise choose. This will be an ongoing project and the first set of writers have been asked to participate given their knowledge, suffering, experience. They have bravely endeavoured to write through their pain to share their insights with others.
And who is this group? They are a collective of diverse backgrounds, genders, statuses, faiths, races, and similarly diverse are the experiences they have chosen to reflect on. The trauma spans from life threatening accidents, to living with chronic illness and pain, to suffering from mental health issues, dealing with post-partum depression, experiencing extreme trauma, such as physical or/and sexual assault, dealing with diverse types of loss, suffering as a child from violence, and there is more… and as you can imagine this is incredibly difficult for some to share so we ask you to humbly accept our work. I will be doing the work to edit these pieces alongside the writer to get them ready to share. You will find as you read along that in the same way that trauma and difficulty happen in a non-linear way, so to do memories, and the process of understanding, realizing, awakening jumps from the present life we are in to the past, or into an uncertain future. The journey ventures through wondering, hoping, fearing, dealing, remembering, overcoming, absorbing, organizing…
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