There is only one thing I dread: Not to be
worthy of my suffering.

--Viktor E. Frankl

We do not know what is being healed with sufferings, says Gary Zukav in the Seat of the Soul. Each person who comes through this world is called upon, at some time or other, to bear some of the weight of the pain that befalls the world. To assist in carrying this pain a little farther for others is a precious calling, although it may also be experienced as a difficult or isolating time in one's life. In Eternal Echoes John O'Donohue tells of a subtle brightening that resides behind that darkness as he explains the meaning of the Cross in Christianity, and enduring symbol of the transfiguration of pain. Both pain and darkness were carried up the hill of Calvary so that they could face the new dawn of Resurrection and become transfigured. In this sense, the Cross and the Resurrection are united. One does not succeed the other in time or space. Rather, the Resurrection can be viewed as the inner light that remains hidden at the heart of darkness in the Cross. In Christian terms, there is no way to light or glory except by passage through the dark weight of the Cross.