Love and pain in all things

Some experiences are so full of love that we feel an enormous surge of pain when they come to an end. Departure day of summer camp is full of those kind of tears. The pain comes from a sense of loss -- of carefree camaraderie, face-to-face intense friendship, bonding and shared experience. In that moment, it feels like all of it is gone forever. Graduation days, moving days, funerals, even promotions or retirement can have a similar feel.

Of course, the older we get the more of these experiences we have had. We know that we may not have the actual moment and experience back but we will have more and we will go through the love and the pain again. As Nietzsche wrote in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, "...life itself confided this secret to me: 'Behold,' it said, 'I am that which must always overcome itself.'"

We all struggle. We all love. We all suffer. And we all do it again. And again.

My annual week at camp always reminds me that we are all -- no matter our age, background, culture -- human. We are all alike.