In a conversation with one of my spiritual teachers I asked, “When does the suffering stop?” She took a breath and said she wanted to think about it more and allow the question to go in. She invited me to do the same. I took some time during a quiet retreat I was facilitating to sit with my thoughts about suffering. As part of the retreat I invited participants to take time for a contemplative walk in the woods and just listen to what nature had to say. I began walking down a long nature trail that narrowed deep into the woods. After walking for twenty minutes, I found a large tree that had fallen and I sat down to listen to my question about suffering.
I opened my journal and decided to shape shift the question into parts:
When does the suffering stop?
Does the suffering stop?
The suffering stops.
Suffering stops.
Stop.
Nature spoke and in that moment, the suffering stopped.
Mary Anne