This weekend the soldier made an unusual claim. He said he’s never suffered a day in his life. “I’ve been cold and hungry in the woods but I’ve never suffered,” he said. He had just finished telling me how selfish he is and I just looked at him, smiling and sitting in the bathtub like we do.

I could see his perspective completely. I told him that his idea was in stark contrast to the many who feel they have suffered their whole lives and I told him I thought I was somewhere in the middle.

Continue reading His Scorpio Moon and My 8th House: Suffering…

When one person suffers is another one spared?

From Wikipedia:

“Elizabeth Ann Smart (born 1987) was abducted from her Salt Lake City, Utah bedroom on June 5, 2002 at the age of 14. She was found alive nine months later on March 12, 2003 in Sandy, Utah, about 18 miles from her home, in the company of Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Ileen Barzee, who were indicted for her kidnapping but ruled unfit to stand trial. Her abduction and recovery were widely reported in North American media and internationally and were the subject of a made-for-TV movie and a published book.”

Elizabeth Smart kidnapping

Do you feel your shoulder more than your share of the collective burden?

I was talking to my pal and astrologer, Claire France Perez about suffering. She thinks love means suffering and pointed out that I do quite a bit of it.

“I suffer?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, yeah I do,” I said.

And my sister (who has a Grand Cross in her chart) had a theory that the suffering of some allow others to avoid suffering. She was specifically talking about people with difficult charts like hers in comparison to people with charts full of trines.

I just stared at the time, but have come to agree with her. What about you?

Does one person’s suffering ease another’s?

Scott and I. We’re still talking about the Saturn Neptune opposition:

“Being homeless and having nothing to eat! My father said that was the definition of suffering,” Scott said.

“Oh really? Well I don’t agree. To him that may be suffering but I don’t think that is universally true. Because I been homeless and had nothing to eat and as you know, I was way happier than most. So there is no way that would be my definition of suffering.”

He didn’t say anything so I tried to think of what I would define as suffering. I was just thinking on the phone, because the conversation had occurred spontaneously. I had never asked myself the question but then an answer came.

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s that big a deal to be homeless. It wasn’t for me anyway. It was a problem but I would not call it suffering, even a little. Suffering to me is the way I feel the day after I fucked someone up. You know. I hurt someone and the next day, forget about it. I am going to suffer. I am going to burn and fry. And I am not sure if there is anything worse for me! So you can see the Saturn Neptune. Your father is concerned with these real life earthy things. Food and shelter which obviously makes sense. But to me it’s the nebulous stuff that’ll kill you. Kill me anyway.”

So what about you? How would you define suffering?

Keep reading -> People Are Scared