“A writer – and, I believe, generally all persons – must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.” -Jorge Luis Borges
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” -Romans 5:3-4
“Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.” -William Shakespeare, As You Like It
“In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.” -Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
No one wants to suffer.
No one knows why we suffer.
But we do get to make meaning from our suffering. That’s what makes us uniquely human.
Think of it all as clay. Use it. Shape it. Make it into a beautiful bowl that you can give someone else to help them when they suffer.
And by doing so, you give a gift to yourself too.
The Vs. Studio Blog 