"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness."
Kurt Vonnegut
03 November, 2014
#MicroblogMondays: Maintaining our humanity
One of the kindest, most giving women I know endured at least 18 miscarriages and one ectopic pregnancy. Somewhere in the midst of those losses, she had her daughter. (She's the one person I feel can use the term miracle pregnancy.) And in the midst of those losses, she gave her heart and soul to helping other women going through losses. There are hundreds if not thousands of us who owe so much to her, and to another friend, who - like me - couldn't have children but helped and comforted those who were still trying. She was then hit by a nasty illness that is now chronic, painful, and sometimes debilitating. Life hasn't been kind to either of these women. Yet they both still give, still care, and both still have wicked or wacky senses of humour, taking joy in life. I thought of them this week as I saw other people - including one most dear to me - go through difficult times and yet maintain their humanity. They teach, even when they don't know it.
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Great quote! It would be very easy to become bitter after what we've been through. Someone I met in our support group once said it very well: she said that she realized she could (easily) let the loss of her daughter destroy her life -- wallow in sadness & bitterness. Or she could choose not to let it destroy her, and to be the kind of person her daughter would have been proud to call her mother. It's hard sometimes. But it's the right way to go.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the quote and what loribeth's support group friend said. I'm sorry to hear about your friend's chronic illness, but I really admire those people who can still teach and care about others and find joy and humour in life despite their circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI had not read that quote before. It's so true. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a great quote. It is so easy to become bitter, for life to make you hard.
ReplyDeleteFantastic quote!
ReplyDeletelove, love the Kurt Vonnegut quote. It reminds me of this beautiful piece on kindness I read recently that I think you'd enjoy:
ReplyDeletehttps://medium.com/matter/on-kindness-819ce388f976