…And he said, “I shall attack these hardships until I triumph and place in your hands a strength that will help over all things to complete the journey of life.
Love – which is God – will consider our sighs and tears as incense burned at His altar and He will reward us with fortitude.
Good-bye, my beloved; I must leave before the heartening moon vanishes.”
A pure voice, combined of the consuming flame of love, and the hopeless bitterness of longing and the resolved sweetness of patience, said, “Good-bye, my beloved”…
I looked upon slumbering Nature, and with deep reflection discovered the reality of a vast and infinite thing —
something no power could demand,
influence acquire,
nor riches purchase.
Nor could it be effaced by the tears of time or deadened by sorrow; a thing which cannot be discovered by the blue lakes of Switzerland or the edifices of the great cities of Italy.
It is something that gathers strength with patience,
grows despite obstacles,
warms in winter, flourishes in spring, casts a breeze in summer, and bears fruit in autumn —
I found Love.
~ Kahlil Gibran
I have several friends with chronic pain and this will be incredibly helpful.