The Beauty and Horror of Suffering

I have witnessed more personal suffering this year than I ever have in all my life. I think about that notion quite a bit these days. On the one hand, it’s a harrowing experience and on the other, the outcomes are usually always beautiful in some way, shape, or form if you allow them to be.

In the past four months, two of my dearest friends have each lost a parent. For one of them, I was with him each…