Suffering

"The flame of suffering burns away our certainties; it also burn out the falsity within us.  Each of us lives with a certain set of illusions that are very dear to us.   We use these illusions as consoling lenses through which we view the world.  An illusion is always a false lens; it can never show us the truth or reality of a situation.   Suffering cleanses us of falsities that have accumulated in our hearts.  This liberates us from the emptiness of false belonging and allows us to belong in a real and truthful way in our lives again."   John O' Donahue