Diet Mind Spirit

The inimitable and wonderful Joseph Campbell once said that personal transformation only comes as a result of suffering or revelation. If we are lucky, we get that “ah ha!” moment by revelation. Unfortunately, for most humans, we are transformed by a serious illness, the death of a loved one or a divorce, among other traumatic and oftentimes grave situations. These tend to take you by surprise.

What Joseph Campbell says may shock some: These shattering moments of your life are exciting. They feed you. They are your sustenance. You need them to grow and so you should be happy about your suffering.

Usually when I’m suffering, I’m so not happy about it.

But I understand what he means by that. When you reach your lowest points, you cannot but wonder why these things are happening. You wonder what is the point? How can you live your life to the fullest? How can you grow personally? Who are you? Why are you here?

While the bad times are some of the most miserable times of your life, I encourage you to celebrate them. They are these moments that push you toward that personal transformation that will ultimately lead you to happiness and peace with yourself.

Nothing is exciting
if you know
what the outcome is going to be.
~ Joseph Campbell from Reflections on the Art of Living

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 5th, 2008 at 7:10 am and is filed under books, faith and spirituality, general, hope, inspiration, mind, online self help, personal development, personal growth, recommendations and favorites, setting goals, wisdom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.