SUFFER NOT
Agnes was a cancer survivor – no, Agnes IS a cancer survivor. The semi-retired life-skills coach is still with us, still seeing clients (though not as many) and still volunteering at the food bank when she can. And she can’t wait to begin taking tai chi classes. To what does she attribute her positive attitude and optimistic outlook? The idea that the dis-ease she underwent was not hers; in fact, she was suffering for someone else.
While collecting stories for a book about people who work in hospice and palliative care, my husband spoke with a Buddhist chaplain, who explained how he helped to turn one mother’s grief into a healing process for her whole community. Here is his story.