I had a long conversation with one of my few close friends yesterday who was distraught about the current state of her life. She was saddened by the seemingly unending financial and emotional challenges she faced and how it seemed like respite was very far away.
There's only so much a person can do by way of direct intervention when someone you care about is going through a rough patch. In such instances if one can directly ease the burden of the victim then by all means. However, like in this scenario, most of us have our own challenges and we are often powerless to intervene. So we offer what we can which is comfort.
One thing I know and stated was that even suffering was a phase. There's nothing permanent about it and ultimately it does come to an end. I've had times that I felt like things were not going to get better and was weighed down by it. However, the only thing I remember was telling myself that the most important thing at the time was survival until respite comes.
Every other thing comes secondary. Sometimes we can let the challenges overwhelm us to the extent that we can't think of act on anything else. That is a trap I believe, and it only makes matters worse. Sometimes just weathering the storm in that moment is all that matters.