REFLECTION PAPER

“living with illness” by Suzanne dextras”

“We are the driver of our life, and our own soul is our passenger, we are the maker of our path and our spirit is our map! As we go on with our trip of life, we might forget to remember, that anytime an accident may occur … and we may SUFFER THE PAIN!”

Wherever we go, PAIN will keep us company. PAIN is either our friend or worst enemy! You cannot ignore nor refuse to feel it. It’s just like a congenital disease that can’t be treated, a pandemic! Since we cannot deny the fact that every human being in this small world or even animals can feel it the same. Like what Dr. Dextras said and wrote this perspective on which she indicated that all people can experience many form of pain; emotionally, spiritually, physically and socially. But we have our own choices; we can regress, stay the same, or move forward with hope after we have suffered the pain and learned from it.

We have a kind of pain in life that is chronic or never be relieved. I believed a pain that would last longer is a kind of pain that we felt from a lost love ones and the worst pain that could never be healed if we will choose not to, is the pain of being far from God the Father of all the loves!

Nevertheless, every pain we experienced and suffered there always be a hope and joy after of this unless we learned to fight against it and stand by our own feet and believe that the wound that caused the pain will heal. We should continue to live life according to the will of God. Living with no reason at all is just like a life that never existed. Like what Dr. Dextras said that we have to choose either to live life with pain or to exist, and that decision is ours!

Being alone in times of your suffering is a kind of pain that sometimes makes you to think that no one cares of you, no one loves you and nobody wants to feel the same pain you have felt. But never try to lose HOPE even though you are being isolated by whom you trusted, because there is always a Man who is willing to carry your cross and assume your burdens as long as you believe in Him. A sincere prayer is the most powerful way to communicate Him. What He wants only from us is strong FAITH and cherish His love! We are not coercing to spend our day with Him but He just only wanted us to bring Him always in our heart, mind and soul!

Being spiritually ill is worst than suffering from any painful injuries!

Just learn why we were created, discover self as you will discover your happiness in life. The book of Nouwen tells us the picture of our inner being and what kind of pictures you have inside? As he said that picture shows the words, the words of your values!

I passionately adore these perspectives of Dr. Suzanne Dextras since it reminds us that we will not only base pain to simply a kind of a damaged tissue in our body or a kind of chronic injury that gradually kills us but also it is the pain that we will feel inside like our soul, a sinner soul. It’s reminding us that to suffer pain is not just simply physically we can feel it but also spiritually. Pain does not only test our physical endurance but as well as the endurance of our life, on how we deal with it!

“SUFFERING is part of our life although we do not desire to suffer, PAIN is also one component of life although we do not desire to suffer pain… but we are the ones who hold the choices, to suffer pain or not! BUT WITHOUT THE TWO, LIFE IS A LEAST MEANINGFUL!”