The Benefits and Universality of Suffering

In life, we all have been confronted by situations that lead us to wonder "Why me? What did I do to deserve this? Why do I have to suffer?" Sometimes this questioning is just the beginning of a downward spiral that can lead to more questions, and comparisons between ourselves and others. I can remember situations in which I will think about people who have done questionable things and then I wonder why these things happened to me and not to them. As I have realized, this is never a good idea because we gain nothing by examining the deeds of others and trying to make ourselves look better in comparison to them. This is in part because we do not know what is going on in the other person's life. We do not know what they have had to deal with or are currently dealing with. So, what would judging them on only a surface view do? Nothing. It doesn't make us feel better and it doesn't make our problems go away.

The only thing we can ever really do is is pick us ourselves up and keep going. Suffering is a part of life, a part that we all have to do with. Even if it doesn't seem like it hits everyone, suffering is an equal-opportunity offender. It doesn't spare the rich, the poor, the famous, or the anonymous. It hits all of us, even if it seems to hit others with bigger waves than others at times. Even though I would like to believe that it all evens out in the end, I also have to be realistic in the fact that life isn't fair. Some people have to deal with more than others, but in the end, those people are stronger for it.

There is a great quote by  Kahlil Gibran that says, "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”  I believe this to very much be true. The more tested you are in your life, the more things you go through, make you an even stronger person because when the next trouble comes along, even if it is the biggest that you have ever faced, you will be able to get through it because you have gotten through bad things before. I see suffering like exercise. When you exercise, your muscles tear and even though you at first are sore from it, in the end, you are stronger when your muscles finally heal.

I also look at it this way. We all love to be told stories and we especially love those where the character, who has been pushed down and beaten up so many times, gets up at the end and wins. We root for these characters and we relate to them because we have all been there. The characters who give up on the other hand are not our favorites, but instead those who we look with pity on. My point is that in the story of your life, would you rather be the one who just gives up, or would you like to be the one who despite all the pain and hardship keeps getting up and wins? To me, I would rather be the one who keeps getting up, because that is someone I can be proud of.