Baba visited Akbar Press on Monday, 22 October 1934. While there, he explained how the mind changes all aspects of suffering, giving the example of two of his women followers, each suffering physically:
One woman is old in age, but lacking in wisdom. She is full of whims and weaknesses of mind. She complains she is suffering from so many diseases — almost every disease in the world!
She has this trouble and that trouble! She wants all her physical ailments to disappear for good and at once. Even when she is all right, she thinks of a thousand-and-one imaginary diseases, and believes she has one or the other of these. She is continually wracking her brains and worrying incessantly, which actually does affect her weak and failing health due to her advanced age, and she suffers unnecessarily.
Quite the opposite is the case of a young woman who is broken in health due to a disease that has her whole physique in its grip and has shattered it to render it a total wreck. Yet she takes it all so cheerfully and doesn’t worry. She takes remedies as advised and is improving gradually.
In short, the real sufferer is the younger woman, but because she doesn’t worry and takes it lightly, she is happy in spite of all her sufferings. The old lady who has certain weaknesses and complaints due to old age, makes a mountain out of an anthill and takes everything too seriously. Consequently, she suffers unnecessarily for things she doesn’t even have! Thus it is all in how you take it.
Similarly, if one closely related to you were to die and one doesn’t worry over it, it doesn’t affect one and one feels light and happy, as usual. But if one takes it to mind, cries, weeps and laments, one becomes unhappy unnecessarily.
-www.lordmeher.org, p1641 October, 1934; Meherabad