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Suffering and self pity

Self-pity often strengthens the feelings of world weariness. Wallowing in woes feels so good to you, and you convince yourself that the pain you experience must be borne because it is your destiny. Yet in truth this is very often not the case; as I have explained, such woes stem from distorted soul currents, which you have the power to correct.

The sickly enjoyment of suffering—you call it masochism—is caused by specific tendencies. On the one hand you run away from real problems you do not want to confront; on the other you find in such pleasant pain a compensation for the privations of your life experience. These may have karmic reasons, yet quite often courage and willpower could relieve them if only you opened the inner door. Regardless of the burden of your past lives, regardless of what you need to experience now on the outer level, you can, by meeting the inner conditions which I am showing to you again and again, heal your soul and bring your feelings—not only your thoughts and actions—into harmony with spiritual law. As a result your life will be emotionally rich, harmonious and happy, completely fulfilling you wherever you are in your development.

Last but not least, consider this also: By rebelling against something you cannot change, you throw your life into disharmony. On the contrary, it will never harm a soul to accept an unalterable stroke of fate. Naturally, one will not, need not, and certainly should not be glad to accept such a burden; that would be impossible. Yet one can resign oneself to it without rebellion and bitterness. The sadness that comes from undergoing such hardship will in some way help to free the soul. I believe that you have all felt this at one time or another.

Whenever you wallow in self-pity, you are unconsciously remembering an earlier reaction, when your pain was commensurate with the gravity of the situation. By wallowing in self-pity you try to reproduce this remembered feeling, but in circumstances which are no longer the same; when the hardship was unavoidable, your surrender was the right response, but now it is different. Now you can change your attitude toward your pain. Because of this difference, the same feeling can in one case be right and healthy and in another case be sick.

- Excerpt taken from Pathwork Guide Lecture #4 World Weariness