The Great Work brought me back from the edge of the abyss. I read a passage that says, “If we can see a likely path to our desired outcome, we have hope; if we can see no possible path to our desired outcome, we have despair. If we are unsure whether there is a possible path or not, we keep hope alive, but it remains vulnerable to defeat if that path is closed. We feel arising within us this sustained declaration: We will live as beautifully, bravely, and kindly as we can as long as we can, no matter how ugly, scary, and mean the world becomes, even if failure and death seem inevitable. In fact, it is only in the context of failure and death that this virtue develops. That’s why Richard Rohr describes this kind of hope as ‘the fruit of a learned capacity to suffer wisely and generously. You come out much larger and that largeness becomes your hope.’’ This is a pretty perfect description of what The Great Work did for me.

Cohort 3 ST