I am imprinted with 50’s and 60’s movies. Annie has seen me through the darkest hours of night. So has Julie Andrew’s “favorite things and then I don’t feel so bad.”
If you are suffering now through the Holidays, belt out those songs as loud as you can as often as possible. Movies and songs often borrow from the greatest of philosophers and avatars to teach us valuable lessons. For example:
“Pain is never permanent.” Teresa of Avila
“This too shall pass.” Persian adage
“Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind.” Aristotle
“Suffering is but another name for the teaching of experience, which is the parent of instruction and the schoolmaster of life.” Horace
“It is by suffering that human beings become angels.” Victor Hugo
“One’s suffering disappears when one lets oneself go, when one yields – even to sadness.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Finally, a story from “Little Flowers of Saint Francis:”
Saint Francis asks a monk what real joy is. The monk responds, “performing miracles.” No. “To know all.” No. “To speak with the tongue of angels.” No. “Convert all unbelievers.” No. “Loving everyone.” No. “Well, what is it, then?!”
“Patience,” says Saint Francis.
Why?
When we suffer, we forget the good times when we were peacefully joyful and content. If we have Patience, we will hunker down and wait for the sun to come up tomorrow.
