"What good can come of grief?"
Said at least a couple of times in the tenth book of the Odyssey.
"Only pain makes it grow stronger. Only sorrow makes it kind. Contentment makes it wither, and joy seems to build walls around it. The heart is perverse, and it is cruel."
The Gum Thief - Douglas Coupland, page 63.
The first quote reminded me of the second, which again brings into play suffering, and how it is required to achieve greatness. Suffering is healthy for us to grow up, to become wise, to get from point A to point B.
It is not only required for the great, but for the simple. There is no good without evil, there is no appreciation of life without suffering.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
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I wrote a post similar to this one (I promise I hadn't read yours first!) We actually have very similar thoughts on the matter of grief. I think Odysseus (or Homer) missed the boat here. Good CAN come of grief, and you outline some good points as to how this can occur.
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