"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us;
what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal."
- Albert Pike
Eventually every single person on this earth comes to the realization that the pursuit of our own happiness and joy alone cannot bring us true happiness or joy!
Time and time again we witness and are reminded of exactly this fact by joyful and peaceful people who attribute their joy wholeheartedly to placing their focus and actions in helping others as opposed to accumulating material goods or wealth for themselves!
There is no excuse to not take their advice!
Caregivers for loved ones fall into a special category of kindness as they endure their own personal suffering as they completely dedicate 100% of their efforts and emotional wealth into making their loved one comfortable and peaceful.
Victor Frankl points out the following observation in his amazing book "Man's Search for Meaning" as he addressed his concentration camp comrades in the throes of hopelessness:
"I told my comrades that the human life, under any circumstances, never ceases to have a meaning, and that this infinite meaning of life includes suffering and dying, privation and death.
I told them that they must not lose hope but should keep their courage in the certainty that the hopelessness of our struggle did not distract from its dignity and its meaning. Someone looks down on each of us a in difficult hours - a friend, a wife, somebody alive or dead, or a God - and he would not expect us to disappoint him. He would hope to find us suffering proudly not miserably - knowing how to die."
Whatever our station in life, good or bad, easy or challenging, rich or poor, each of our lives have meaning and, even though we may not be aware of that meaning right now, we have to have Faith that our current suffering and challenges are part of that meaning and these too will pass.
Stay Strong!!
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