“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make yourself a serpent and put it on a pole, and let whoever is bitten look at it and live.’ Moses made
a copper snake and put it on a pole, and whenever a snake bit a man, he would gaze upon the copper snake and live.”
(Bamidbar 21:8-9)
“What is the deeper meaning of suffering? And how do some people know how to accept affliction with love and grace?
I can experience my challenges, struggles, and difficulties in the way they are manifested down here. But I can also look at these very same struggles from a more elevated point of view.
From the ‘downer’ perspective, these challenges… can throw me into despair or drain me of my sap. From the ‘higher’ perspective, the way G-d sees these very same realities, every challenge contains the seeds for rebirth. Within every crisis lies the possibility of a new and deeper discovery.
…
This is not about suppressing the pain. On the contrary, it is about taking the pain back to its deepest origin; going with it back to its primal source.
When faced with a ‘snake,’ with a challenge, many people look to their right or to their left. Either they fight, or they cave in. But there is another path: look upwards. See the ‘snake’ from the perspective above.
And in that upward gaze, you might find a new sense of healing: the questions might become the very answers, the problems may become the solutions, and the venom may become the cure.
…
It’s the same idea taught by Moses: The source of the affliction itself becomes the remedy. This is true in all areas of life. As viewed by the Creator,…pain is a springboard for deeper love and frustration is the mother of a new awareness.