twelthnight
Banned
Here is an example of the value of suffering in a life of an intelligent, accomplished, already compassionate writer (in regards to 12th house issues, as I think it's still relevent to this post.) Oscar Wilde was a beloved playwrite in his time who had a wide circle of friends and lived according to his principles and brought a lot of joy to people both personally and professionally.
Late in his career, he had a consensual relationship with a young man (who was the inspiration for Dorian Gray) that ended very badly with his lover's father intervening which resulted in Wilde's imprisonment....i can't remember for how many years. While this was all unfolding, almost every last one of his "devoted" friends completely abandoned him, he was reviled and villified publicly, his entire life was in shambles. While he was in prison, he wrote De Profundis...which I think is the most interesting thing he evr wrote....it's all about his time in prison (which he utimately was deeply grateful for) and the internal transormation he underwent as his life fell apart...he found himself and true compassion. My point is that you can lead a valuable, accomplished life and accquire all that you could desire in terms of career and standing, family and friends...but what it is all built on is in the invisible realm of the 12th. Wilde realised that all of his very Libran accomplishments were illusory and quite easily lost, he then found something that could never be taken from him...this type of scenario is always possible for any of us in life....maybe we get sick, or something happens which wipes our slate clean....so what's left? Then it is up the the individual and no one else to align themselves with their true path, to forgive and surrender and make peace with that reality of life. Anyway, I think it's a useful illustration of these themes...
Late in his career, he had a consensual relationship with a young man (who was the inspiration for Dorian Gray) that ended very badly with his lover's father intervening which resulted in Wilde's imprisonment....i can't remember for how many years. While this was all unfolding, almost every last one of his "devoted" friends completely abandoned him, he was reviled and villified publicly, his entire life was in shambles. While he was in prison, he wrote De Profundis...which I think is the most interesting thing he evr wrote....it's all about his time in prison (which he utimately was deeply grateful for) and the internal transormation he underwent as his life fell apart...he found himself and true compassion. My point is that you can lead a valuable, accomplished life and accquire all that you could desire in terms of career and standing, family and friends...but what it is all built on is in the invisible realm of the 12th. Wilde realised that all of his very Libran accomplishments were illusory and quite easily lost, he then found something that could never be taken from him...this type of scenario is always possible for any of us in life....maybe we get sick, or something happens which wipes our slate clean....so what's left? Then it is up the the individual and no one else to align themselves with their true path, to forgive and surrender and make peace with that reality of life. Anyway, I think it's a useful illustration of these themes...