--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suffering shapes the life force…" description: "\"Suffering shapes the life force, sometimes into anger, sometimes into blame and self-pity. Eventually it may show us the wisdom of embracing and loving..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ba/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_blame_suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometime_434011.png" --- # Suffering shapes the life force, sometimes into anger… ![“Suffering shapes the life force, sometimes into anger, sometimes into blame and self-pity. Eventually it may show us the wisdom of embracing and loving life.” quote by Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ba/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_blame_suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometime_434011.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ba/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_blame_suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometime_434011.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ba/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_blame_suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometime_434011.png) > “Suffering shapes the life force, sometimes into anger, sometimes into blame and self-pity. Eventually it may show us the wisdom of embracing and loving life.” [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suffering can transform into negative emotions but also lead to deeper appreciation and love for life. **In simple terms:** Pain can become wisdom and love. Key Takeaway Embrace pain to grow. Themes suffering transformation wisdom self‑compassion Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal growth - spiritual practice - healing after trauma Key Concepts psychology existentialism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn personal pain into compassion? - What practices help you accept suffering? A Different Perspective The shift to love may not happen without support or time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Loving life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-life/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-pity/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [When a problem arises, we dwell in anger and blame on judgement taken.Dont waste time in finding who is guilty or who is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/when-a-problem-arises-we-dwell-in-anger-and-blame-on-judgement-taken/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [We looked at each other, and I could see in those big reddened eyes that he was not going to scream. He was full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gaines/we-looked-at-each-other-and-i-could-see-in-those-big-reddened-eyes/) [Ernest Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gaines/) > [I knew that my heart and mind would always be tempted to feel anger--to find blame and hate. But I resolved that when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immaculee-ilibagiza/i-knew-that-my-heart-and-mind-would-always-be-tempted-to-feel-anger/) [Immaculee Ilibagiza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immaculee-ilibagiza/) > [Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/nothing-shapes-your-life-more-than-the-commitments-you-choose-to-make/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [You can find the money, you'll be okay, but the things that you choose to invest your energy in, that shapes your life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-whitman/you-can-find-the-money-you-ll-be-okay-but-the-things-that-you-choose/) [Mae Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-whitman/) > [The way you see your life shapes your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/the-way-you-see-your-life-shapes-your-life/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“It is not the small number of big decisions that we take but the large number of small decisions that we take in life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ratish-edwards/it-is-not-the-small-number-of-big-decisions-that-we-take-but-the/) [Ratish Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ratish-edwards/) > [“The way you SEE your life SHAPES your life. How you define life determines your destiny. Your perspective will influence how you invest your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/the-way-you-see-your-life-shapes-your-life-how-you-define-life/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [The Internet shapes my life and work so completely that I couldn't imagine living without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-formichetti/the-internet-shapes-my-life-and-work-so-completely-that-i-couldn-t/) [Nicola Formichetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-formichetti/) > [Only what you believe and not necessarily the truth of your thoughts is what shapes your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-what-you-believe-and-not-necessarily-the-truth-of-your-thoughts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Light shapes my life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-mckain/light-shapes-my-life/) [Nigel McKain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-mckain/) > [The sincerity with which you do things, that's what shapes your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-griffin/the-sincerity-with-which-you-do-things-that-s-what-shapes-your-life/) [Blake Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-griffin/) > [“What we dwell on much with our mind sinks into our heart and shapes our life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/what-we-dwell-on-much-with-our-mind-sinks-into-our-heart-and-shapes/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [Where one person shapes their life by precept and example, there are a thousand who have shaped it by impulse and circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/where-one-person-shapes-their-life-by-precept-and-example-there-are-a/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [“Truth is, I’m generally happiest when it’s just me. It’s okay to be madly in love with yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/truth-is-i-m-generally-happiest-when-it-s-just-me-it-s-okay-to-be/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) ## More by Rachel Naomi Remen > [Chances are that any helpful two-year-old will break some eggs. We are often not very good at things when we are new. But there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/chances-are-that-any-helpful-two-year-old-will-break-some-eggs-we-are/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Big messages come in small packages. All it may take to restore someone's trust in life may be returning a lost earring or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/big-messages-come-in-small-packages-all-it-may-take-to-restore/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/the-most-basic-and-powerful-way-to-connect-to-another-person-is-to/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/the-most-basic-and-powerful-way-to-connect-to-another-person-is-to-2/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Many people do not know that they can strengthen or diminish the life around them. The way we live day to day simply may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/many-people-do-not-know-that-they-can-strengthen-or-diminish-the-life/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [A label is a mask life wears. We put labels on life all the time. 'Right,' 'wrong,' 'success,' 'failure,' . . . Labeling sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/a-label-is-a-mask-life-wears-we-put-labels-on-life-all-the-time-right/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you - all of the expectations, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/healing-may-not-be-so-much-about-getting-better-as-about-letting-go/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [It is said that the Christian mystic Theresa of Avila found difficulty at first in reconciling the vastness of the life of the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/it-is-said-that-the-christian-mystic-theresa-of-avila-found/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Just Listen an excerpt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/just-listen-an-excerpt/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Goose bumps happen when your soul is close to you, breathing lightly on the back of your neck, and wakes you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/goose-bumps-happen-when-your-soul-is-close-to-you-breathing-lightly/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [We have become terribly vulnerable, not because we suffer but because we have separated ourselves from each other. A patient once told me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/we-have-become-terribly-vulnerable-not-because-we-suffer-but-because/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [All natural processes are long processes and they last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/all-natural-processes-are-long-processes-and-they-last/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Deep inside, our integrity sings to us whether we are listening or not. It is a note that only we can hear. Eventually, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/deep-inside-our-integrity-sings-to-us-whether-we-are-listening-or-not/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [From a good teacher you may learn the secret of listening. You will never learn the secret of life. You will have to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/from-a-good-teacher-you-may-learn-the-secret-of-listening-you-will/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [To seek approval is to have no resting place, no sanctuary. Like all judgement, approval encourages a constant striving. It makes us uncertain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/to-seek-approval-is-to-have-no-resting-place-no-sanctuary-like-all/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) [Explore all 139 Rachel Naomi Remen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) ## More Blame quotes > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Me mum used to always have the radio on - even now she has it on in every room. Me girlfriend sort of blames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/me-mum-used-to-always-have-the-radio-on-even-now-she-has-it-on-in/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [I like to praise and reward loudly, to blame quietly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-the-great/i-like-to-praise-and-reward-loudly-to-blame-quietly/) [Catherine the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-the-great/) > [Some of the things that I said I hated to say, but blame yourself mother fucker you made it this way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jedi-mind-tricks/some-of-the-things-that-i-said-i-hated-to-say-but-blame-yourself/) [Jedi Mind Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jedi-mind-tricks/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“In places where government priorities and market imperatives create a world so capricious that to help a neighbor is to risk your ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/in-places-where-government-priorities-and-market-imperatives-create-a/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“Stop Blaming Others For Your Own Actions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-g-roldan/stop-blaming-others-for-your-own-actions/) [Alexis G. Roldan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-g-roldan/) > [We know from this book entitled... What is it? Surrendered? Succumbed? I can never remember the title perform. And we learn from this book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-know-from-this-book-entitled-what-is-it-surrendered-succumbed-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't blame anyone .. I did this to myself .. It's my fault .. Everything is my FAULT ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nurnizz95/i-don-t-blame-anyone-i-did-this-to-myself-it-s-my-fault-everything-is/) Nurnizz95 > [“They would congratulate themselves every morning on keeping their integrity, and blame themselves each night for that missed opportunity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/they-would-congratulate-themselves-every-morning-on-keeping-their/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I try to live my life where I end up at a point where I have no regrets. So I try to choose the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-aronofsky/i-try-to-live-my-life-where-i-end-up-at-a-point-where-i-have-no/) [Darren Aronofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-aronofsky/) > [How come you don't feel that magic in the air? I guess I knew you'll never be there. I guess I knew you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-come-you-don-t-feel-that-magic-in-the-air-i-guess-i-knew-you-ll/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am down mentally. I can't understand how it happened and who is to blame? I don't know why the ground was rolled before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeasin-khan/i-am-down-mentally-i-can-t-understand-how-it-happened-and-who-is-to/) Yeasin Khan > [A refusal to admit one's mistake & not accepting responsibility for that mistake by blaming everyone else, is d beginning of one's decline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-refusal-to-admit-one-s-mistake-not-accepting-responsibility-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Listen, the guy was not created by coverage from MSNBC and CNN. If you want to blame us for making Donald Trump president because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-tur/listen-the-guy-was-not-created-by-coverage-from-msnbc-and-cnn-if-you/) [Katy Tur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-tur/) Browse all 3,779 Blame quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Suffering shapes the life force, sometimes into anger, sometimes into blame and self-pity. Eventually it may show us the wisdom of embracing and loving life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rachel Naomi Remen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometimes-into-anger-sometimes-into/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blame" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometimes-into-anger-sometimes-into/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ba/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_blame_suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometime_434011.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ba/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_blame_suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometime_434011.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ba/rachel-naomi-remen-3110_blame_suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometime_434011.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Suffering shapes the life force, sometimes into anger, sometimes into blame and self-pity. Eventually it may…” — Rachel Naomi Remen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rachel Naomi Remen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Suffering shapes the life force, sometimes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometimes-into-anger-sometimes-into/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/suffering-shapes-the-life-force-sometimes-into-anger-sometimes-into/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```