They say that 'time assuages,'--
Time never did assuage;
An actual suffering strengthens,
As sinews do, with age.
Time is a test of trouble,
But not a remedy.
If such it prove, it prove too
There was no malady.
Emily Dickinson
What do you think? Does time assuage?
I think it depends very much on the nature of the 'trouble'. Some pains fade over time because the effects of the pain as well as the pain itself are in the past. But other suffering - especially great loss - gets worse as time goes on and the impact of the loss makes itself clear in more and more situations. This is why it's so misguided to tell someone to 'just get over' suffering that was a long time ago - especially childhood suffering - because the person may see the effects of those events or traumas every day in their adult life. I have heard dreadful sermons to this effect and I think they show profound ignorance.
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