Jordan Ogren

May 26, 2022

It hit me like a slap to the face.

It was my first time back.
 
Each month, my wife Katie gets an infusion for Multiple Sclerosis.
 
Aside from the first one, I’ve been absent (with Katie’s permission). That’s why coming back shook me up.
 
Emotions that I haven’t seen in awhile came out to play. 
 
The same emotions I had almost a year ago when she was diagnosed:
  • Anger (at God and the world)
  • Sadness (for Katie having to do this monthly)
  • Impending Doom (for an uncertain future)
 
The truth is, these feelings were always “there.” Maybe they were behind the couch, or in a drawer I never open. 
 
But they never left.
 
It’s kind of like grief. You don’t get through it. You learn to live with it.
 
Sure, I could never go with Katie again and live as if those feelings are absent. But she will still feel them (different emotions).
 
And that brings me to my premise:
 
We are not meant to avoid the pain and hurt.
 
We are meant to:
  • Sit with those suffering
  • Feel some of the emotions they are experiencing
  • And show that we are on the journey together
 
I’m not talking only about family or friends.
 
I’m talking about everyone.
 
The homeless person, the single mother doing everything to make ends meet, or the recovering addict.
 
Sure, you can avoid them and never “see” them, which provides the illusion of good emotions.
 
But I find much joy and peace leaning into the pain­–seeing the people who are hurting.
 
I’m sure I’m not painting this premise poetically.
 
It’s hard writing in hospitals.
 
But I hope you see some of my point. That we all get a choice:
 
To see and feel the pain of others or to shelter ourselves from it, thus making it feel as if they aren’t suffering.
 
The truth is, suffering is happening everywhere.
 
Will you lean into it with other humans? 
Or will you build a castle to never see the pain of others?
 
You know my answer. I’m waiting for yours…
 
🧠 + ❤️ // JO