Comments on: Three Ways to Respond to Suffering http://blogsinmind.com/lib/2010/01/27/three-ways-to-respond-to-suffering/ Archived Posts from the CR Health Net blog 'Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life'. Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:36:51 +0000 hourly 1 By: Evan Hadkins http://blogsinmind.com/lib/2010/01/27/three-ways-to-respond-to-suffering/#comment-669 Evan Hadkins Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:13:12 +0000 http://counsellingresource.com/features/?p=2059#comment-669 Thanks Sarah Thanks Sarah

]]> By: Sarah Luczaj http://blogsinmind.com/lib/2010/01/27/three-ways-to-respond-to-suffering/#comment-668 Sarah Luczaj Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:14:24 +0000 http://counsellingresource.com/features/?p=2059#comment-668 I vote for difficult and wonderful - absolutely, inextricably both! I vote for difficult and wonderful – absolutely, inextricably both!

]]> By: Evan Hadkins http://blogsinmind.com/lib/2010/01/27/three-ways-to-respond-to-suffering/#comment-667 Evan Hadkins Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:11:49 +0000 http://counsellingresource.com/features/?p=2059#comment-667 Thanks for this comment da. I do think humour helps a lot. Great to have your perspective. Thanks for this comment da. I do think humour helps a lot. Great to have your perspective.

]]> By: da wiznitch http://blogsinmind.com/lib/2010/01/27/three-ways-to-respond-to-suffering/#comment-666 da wiznitch Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:41:19 +0000 http://counsellingresource.com/features/?p=2059#comment-666 My favorite strategy recently has been to say to myself, "What's funny about this?" There is almost always something humorous in any situation. Sometimes this humor may be a bit morbid or politically incorrect. For example, I have found myself wondering if the very depressing earthquake in Haiti might result in...more zombies? Politically incorrect, yes, but it made me laugh for a minute or two about something that has had me on the verge of tears for a week or so. My sister is having surgery tomorrow for a possible brain tumor. She made a joke today about how she hoped SHE wouldn't become a zombie. (We have been reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.) Sometimes when people are mean to me, I can see how silly they are being and laugh at them rather than just feeling hurt or angry. Of course, sometimes laughing at people makes them angrier. Once I laughed at a guy and he threatened to kill me. later I realized that this was in fact funny, because years prior to this, I had heard that while men are afraid women will laugh at them, women are afraid men will kill them. I had told this to a male friend, and he quipped, "If you laugh at me I'll kill you." Later he died of cancer. But when i realized his "joke" had come true, I laughed again! And had a nice memory of my friend. Once I told a friend that the purpose of life was to live in such a way that you leave a lot of funny stories for people to tell about you at your wake. My friend said, "That's a very Irish way of looking at it." Kiss me, I'm Irish! My favorite strategy recently has been to say to myself, “What’s funny about this?” There is almost always something humorous in any situation.
Sometimes this humor may be a bit morbid or politically incorrect. For example, I have found myself wondering if the very depressing earthquake in Haiti might result in…more zombies? Politically incorrect, yes, but it made me laugh for a minute or two about something that has had me on the verge of tears for a week or so.

My sister is having surgery tomorrow for a possible brain tumor. She made a joke today about how she hoped SHE wouldn’t become a zombie. (We have been reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.)

Sometimes when people are mean to me, I can see how silly they are being and laugh at them rather than just feeling hurt or angry. Of course, sometimes laughing at people makes them angrier. Once I laughed at a guy and he threatened to kill me. later I realized that this was in fact funny, because years prior to this, I had heard that while men are afraid women will laugh at them, women are afraid men will kill them. I had told this to a male friend, and he quipped, “If you laugh at me I’ll kill you.” Later he died of cancer. But when i realized his “joke” had come true, I laughed again! And had a nice memory of my friend.

Once I told a friend that the purpose of life was to live in such a way that you leave a lot of funny stories for people to tell about you at your wake. My friend said, “That’s a very Irish way of looking at it.” Kiss me, I’m Irish!

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