The thorn and the rose, a journey from suffering to love compiled and edited by Anthony Williams

The thorn and the rose, a journey from suffering to love compiled and edited by Anthony Williams

The Thorn and the Rose is for anyone who needs to learn how to deal with present suffering or who wants to know how others have viewed the role of suffering in human life. It includes nearly 1000 selections from over 300 authors, dating from ancient Greece up to the present time, and presents insights and advice that combine a down-to-earth common-sense approach to life with a sometimes surprising and often profound understanding about the nature and true meaning of suffering.

The authors quoted here have faced pain, tragedy and loss. But instead of becoming embittered and resentful, they have found another path through their afflictions that has changed their understanding of themselves and deepened their relationship to their fellow humans and the world.

The theme underlying The Thorn and the Rose is that physical and emotional sufferings are not simply accidents and unfortunate occurrences to be forgotten, but are central ingredients in human life which, rightly understood, are meant to be a profound teacher and illuminator. Suffering is shown to have the hidden potential as an experience that changes people, expands their emotional understanding of life, and ultimately leads to a spiritual and even mystical transformation.

These extracts further reveal that suffering, when taken in the right way, is able to increase ones love for other people, thereby uncovering the mysterious and paradoxical connection-hinted at in both religious and secular writings-between suffering and love.

Details

• Hardcover with dust jacket (as new) 
• ISBN: 9780967771809
• Condition: As New 
  
• Publisher: Archive publications