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Archive Number 89 | ||
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Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 21:17:54 EDT
In a message dated 4/17/01 8:01:33 PM, EwingChange@AOL.COM writes: << This story of Itzak Perlman reminds me of another thing about him. It is actually a little clip that I remember from Sesame Street which I watched about 16 years ago with my children but never forgot... >> Poignant anecdote, Esther. And this whole thread takes me back to Trudy Terry's earlier thought-provoking question, "What significance does pain play in our lives?" (A persistent, unexplainable ache in my left hip, which has been growing over the past couple of years, makes sure that I keep re-focusing my attention on this question!!) Re. all this, by coincidence this evening I picked up the recent Sounds True catalogue which had arrived in the mail and happened across the blurb for book by Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron. Her point (which I understand to be at the core of Buddhist teachings as well as other mystical traditions) is that painful experiences--suffering--are the seeds of one's awakening and that vulnerability a great spiritual resource, the source of true strength. This theme of the transformative power of suffering is certainly at the heart of many fairy and folktales, too.... Nevertheless, I can't help but persist in wishing that life were easier and that the pain in my hip would go away... Cristy | ||